Context : The galaxy NGC 1512 is interacting with the smaller galaxy NGC 1510 and shows a peculiar morphology , characterised by two extended arms immersed in an HI disc whose size is about four times larger than the optical diameter of NGC 1512 .

Aims : For the first time we performed a deep X-ray observation of the galaxies NGC 1512 and NGC 1510 with XMM-Newton to gain information on the population of X-ray sources and diffuse emission in a system of interacting galaxies .

Methods : We identified and classified the sources detected in the XMM-Newton field of view by means of spectral analysis , hardness-ratios calculated with a Bayesian method , X-ray variability , and cross-correlations with catalogues in optical , infrared , and radio wavelengths .
We also made use of archival Swift ( X-ray ) and Australia Telescope Compact Array ( radio ) data to better constrain the nature of the sources detected with XMM-Newton .

Results : We detected 106 sources in the energy range of 0.2 - 12 keV , out of which 15 are located within the D _ { 25 } regions of NGC 1512 and NGC 1510 and at least six sources coincide with the extended arms .
We identified and classified six background objects and six foreground stars .
We discussed the nature of a source within the D _ { 25 } ellipse of NGC 1512 , whose properties indicate a quasi-stellar object or an intermediate ultra-luminous X-ray source .
Taking into account the contribution of low-mass X-ray binaries and active galactic nuclei , the number of high-mass X-ray binaries detected within the D _ { 25 } region of NGC 1512 is consistent with the star formation rate obtained in previous works based on radio , infrared optical , and UV wavelengths .
We detected diffuse X-ray emission from the interior region of NGC 1512 with a plasma temperature of kT = 0.68 ~ { } ( 0.31 - 0.87 ) keV and a 0.3–10 keV X-ray luminosity of 1.3 \times 10 ^ { 38 } erg s ^ { -1 } , after correcting for unresolved discrete sources .

Conclusions :