Recent XMM-Newton and Chandra observations of the high mass X-ray binary LS 5039 / RX J1826.2-1450 caught the source in a faint X-ray state .
In contrast with previous RXTE observations , we fail to detect any evidence of iron line emission .
We also fail to detect X-ray pulsations .
The X-ray spectrum can be well fitted by a simple powerlaw , slightly harder than in previous observations , and does not require the presence of any additional disk or blackbody component . XMM-Newton data imply an X-ray photoelectric absorption ( N _ { H } \sim 7 \times 10 ^ { 21 } cm ^ { -2 } ) consistent with optical reddening , indicating that no strong local absorption occurs at the time of these observations .
We discuss possible source emission mechanisms and hypotheses on the nature of the compact object , giving particular emphasis to the young pulsar scenario .