  (abridged) We present new Spitzer, UKIRT and MMT observations of the blue
compact dwarf galaxy (BCD) Mrk 996, with an oxygen abundance of
12+log(O/H)=8.0. This galaxy has the peculiarity of possessing an
extraordinarily dense nuclear star-forming region, with a central density of
~10^6 cm^{-3}. The nuclear region of Mrk 996 is characterized by several
unusual properties: a very red color J-K = 1.8, broad and narrow emission-line
components, and ionizing radiation as hard as 54.9 eV, as implied by the
presence of the OIV 25.89 micron line. The nucleus is located within an
exponential disk with colors consistent with a single stellar population of age
>1 Gyr. The infrared morphology of Mrk 996 changes with wavelength. The IRS
spectrum shows strong narrow Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon (PAH) emission,
with narrow line widths and equivalent widths that are high for the metallicity
of Mrk 996. Gaseous nebular fine-structure lines are also seen. A CLOUDY model
requires that they originate in two distinct HII regions: a very dense HII
region of radius ~580 pc with densities declining from ~10^6 at the center to a
few hundreds cm^{-3} at the outer radius, where most of the optical lines
arise; and a HII region with a density of ~300 cm^{-3} that is hidden in the
optical but seen in the MIR. We suggest that the infrared lines arise mainly in
the optically obscured HII region while they are strongly suppressed by
collisional deexcitation in the optically visible one. The hard ionizing
radiation needed to account for the OIV 25.89 micron line is most likely due to
fast radiative shocks propagating in an interstellar medium. A hidden
population of Wolf-Rayet stars of type WNE-w or a hidden AGN as sources of hard
ionizing radiation are less likely possibilities.
