Lens or binary?: Chandra observations of the wide-separation broad absorption line quasar pair UM 425

We have obtained a 110 ks Chandra ACIS-S exposure of UM 425, a pair of QSOs at z = 1.47 separated by 6."5, which show remarkably similar emission and broad absorption line (BAL) profiles in the optical/UV. Our 5000 count X-ray spectrum of UM 425A ( the brighter component) is well fitted with a power law (photon spectral index Gamma = 2.0) partially covered by a hydrogen column of 3.8 x 10(22) cm(-2). The underlying power-law slope for this object and for other recent samples of BALQSOs is typical of radio-quiet quasars, lending credence to the hypothesis that BALs exist in every quasar. Assuming the same Gamma for the much fainter image of UM 425B, we detect an obscuring column 5 times larger. We search for evidence of an appropriately large lensing mass in our Chandra image and find weak diffuse emission near the quasar pair, with an X-ray flux typical of a group of galaxies at redshift z similar to 0.6. From our analysis of archival HST WFPC2 and NICMOS images, we find no evidence for a luminous lensing galaxy, but note a 3 sigma excess of galaxies in the UM 425 field with plausible magnitudes for a z = 0.6 galaxy group. However, the associated X-ray emission does not imply sufficient mass to produce the observed image splitting. The lens scenario thus requires a dark (high M/L ratio) lens or a fortuitous configuration of masses along the line of sight. UM425 may instead be a close binary pair of BALQSOs, which would boost arguments that interactions and mergers increase nuclear activity and outflows.