We compare the UV-optical colors of a well-defined set of optically-selected
pre-merger interacting galaxy pairs with those of normal spirals. The shorter
wavelength colors show a larger dispersion for the interacting galaxies than
for the spirals. This result can best be explained by higher star formation
rates on average in the interacting galaxies, combined with higher extinctions
on average. This is consistent with earlier studies, that found that the star
formation in interacting galaxies tends to be more centrally concentrated than
in normal spirals, perhaps due to gas being driven into the center by the
interaction. As noted in earlier studies, there is a large variation from
galaxy to galaxy in the implied star formation rates of the interacting
galaxies, with some galaxies having enhanced rates but others being fairly
quiescent.Comment: To appear in the Astronomical Journal. 22 pages, 22 figure
