XMM Observations of the Seyfert 2 Galaxy NGC 7590: the Nature of X-ray
  Absorption
  We present the analysis of three XMM observations of the Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC
7590. The source was found to have no X-ray absorption in the low spatial
resolution ASCA data. The XMM observations provide a factor of 10 better
spatial resolution than previous ASCA data. We find that the X-ray emission of
NGC 7590 is dominated by an off-nuclear ULX and extended emission from the host
galaxy. The nuclear X-ray emission is rather weak comparing with the host
galaxy. Based on its very low X-ray luminosity as well as the small ratio
between the 2-10 keV and the [O III] fluxes, we interpret NGC 7590 as
Compton-thick rather than being an "unobscured" Seyfert 2 galaxy. Future higher
resolution observations such as Chandra are crucial to shed light on the nature
of NGC 7590 nucleus.
