NGC 4736 is a nearby Sab spiral galaxy , hosting one of the closest examples of a LINER nucleus .
We have utilized recent observations by ROSAT and ASCA to characterise the X-ray properties of this galaxy .
Twelve discrete X-ray sources are detected within the region subtended by its optical disk , the majority of which are likely to be X-ray binaries associated with the galaxy .
By far the brightest source in the X-ray band is positionally coincident with the nucleus of the galaxy and is spatially resolved into a component with a radial extent of \sim 3 kpc plus a point-like core .
The broad band ( 0.1–10 keV ) spectrum of this nuclear source is composed of a hard continuum with a spectral slope characteristic of that observed in classical Seyfert nuclei ( i.e . power-law photon index , \Gamma \approx 1.7 ) , with thermal emission ( kT = 0.1 - 0.6 keV ) dominant below 2 keV .
An Fe K _ { \alpha } line may also be present at \sim 6.8 keV .
There is no evidence for X-ray temporal variability on timescales of hours to years .
A plausible model is that the hard continuum originates in a near-quiescent active galactic nucleus ( with L _ { X } \sim 6 \times 10 ^ { 39 } { ~ { } erg~ { } s ^ { -1 } } , 0.5–10 keV ) embedded in the LINER at the centre of NGC 4736 .
However , an alternative explanation , namely that the LINER is the site of a dense population of X-ray binary sources , can not be completely excluded .