XMM-Newton Observation of the Northwest Radio Relic Region in Abell 3667
  Abell 3667 is the archetype of a merging cluster with radio relics. The NW
radio relic is the brightest cluster relic or halo known, and is believed to be
due to a strong merger shock. We have observed the NW relic for 40 ksec of net
XMM time. We observe a global decline of temperature across the relic from 6 to
1 keV, similar to the Suzaku results. Our new observations reveal a sharp
change of both temperature and surface brightness near the position of the
relic. The increased X-ray emission on the relic can be equivalently well
described by either a thermal or nonthermal spectral model. The parameters of
the thermal model are consistent with a Mach number M~2 shock and a shock speed
of ~1200 km s^-1. The energy content of the relativistic particles in the radio
relic can be explained if they are (re)-accelerated by the shock with an
efficiency of ~0.2%. Comparing the limit on the inverse Compton X-ray emission
with the measured radio synchrotron emission, we set a lower limit to the
magnetic field in the relic of 3 muG. If the emission from the relic is
non-thermal, this lower limit is in fact the required magnetic field.
