THE STARBURST IN THE WOLF-RAYET NUCLEUS OF THE LINER NGC-6764

We present high-resolution images of millimeter-wave 115 GHz (CO)-C-12 (1-0) and near-infrared 2.1213 mu m H-2 line emission and K-band conti nuum emission from the Wolf-Rayet nucleus of the low-ionization nuclea r emission-line region (LINER) NGC 6764. We also present observations of 2.0581 mu m He I and 2.1655 mu m Br gamma line emission, optical sp ectroscopic measurements of Wolf-Rayet features, and the first detecti on of NGC 6764 in X-rays. Our measurements reveal a dense concentratio n of molecular gas and a starburst at the nucleus of NGC 6764. A detai led starburst analysis indicates a recent intense starburst of a few t imes 10(7) yr. This starburst is most likely responsible for the prese nce of a few thousand Wolf-Rayet stars in the nucleus of NGC 6764. An interferometric position-velocity map of the nucleus reveals the prese nce of distinct molecular cloud complexes with an apparently asymmetri c velocity held shifted toward the blue with respect to the systemic v elocity of 2420 km s(-1). The distribution of the 2.12 mu m H-2 line f lux exhibits extensions approximately perpendicular to the stellar bar that are in agreement with structural features in VLA radio maps and IRAM 30 m maps of the (CO)-C-12(2-1) line emission, possibly indicatin g a nuclear outflow. A detailed investigation of the Wolf-Rayet featur e at 466 nm indicates that it is spatially extended on a scale of a fe w arcseconds.