THE COMPLEX NATURE OF THE INTERACTING SYSTEM NGC 7592

A detailed analysis of the physical conditions and of the kinematical and dynamical properties of the system of interacting galaxies NGC 7592, the western component of which shows signs of Seyfert activity, is presented. The aspect and kinematics of the galaxies suggest that a prograde encounter between the eastern and the western component of the system is occurring. The large Hα luminosity indicates that all galaxies are undergoing a strong burst of star formation, with a very large global star formation rate (about 20 solar masses/yr). In the spectra of the nuclear and circumnuclear regions of the western component, the high ionization lines are redshifted by about 50 km/s with respect to the low ionization lines, and their ratios indicate the simultaneous presence of thermally and nonthermally ionized gas. This is interpreted in terms of the coexistence in the nucleus of the western component of Seyfert and Starburst activity, the latter being responsible for about 75 percent of the Hα line luminosity.