THE STARBURST RING AROUND THE SEYFERT NUCLEUS IN NGC-7469

We present high-resolution radio continuum, optical emission line, and optical continuum images of the luminous (approximately 3 x 10(11) L(.)) Seyfert plus circumnuclear starburst hybrid galaxy NGC 7469. The radio images reveal a compact (0".1-0".2 approximately 30-60 pc) source associated with the Seyfert nucleus plus a broken ring of emission centered on it with diameter 3" (congruent-to 1.0 kpc), both these radio components being nonthermal in origin. The distribution of the flux ratio [O III]lambda-5007/H-alpha + [N II]lambda-lambda-6548, 6584 over the central 3 kpc reflects a mixture of Seyfert- and H II region-like excited gas. The present images and a recent speckle masking image by Hofmann, Mauder, & Weigelt reveal optical continuum features associated with the radio ring. We suggest that the starburst ring in NGC 7469 has resulted from a gas ring formed through bar-forcing at a dynamical (probably inner Lindblad) resonance. Current starburst models can account for both the far infrared and the nonthermal radio emission if the supernova rate is approximately 1 per year. Models in which Seyfert nuclei are fueled through inflow of gas associated with bar- or oval distortion-driven resonances, on scales ranging from galaxy wide (tens of kpc) to circumnuclear (<500 pc), are supported by these results. The putative stellar bar and individual supernovae in the ring may be detectable through high-resolution, near-infrared imaging.