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Launched on 12 Aug. 2018, NASA's Parker Solar Probe had completed 13 of its scheduled 24 orbits around the Sun by Nov. 2022. The mission's primary science goal is to determine the structure and dynamics of the Sun's coronal magnetic field, understand how the solar corona and wind are heated and accelerated, and determine what processes accelerate energetic particles. Parker Solar Probe returned a treasure trove of science data that far exceeded quality, significance, and quantity expectations, leading to a significant number of discoveries reported in nearly 700 peer-reviewed publications. The first four years of the 7-year primary mission duration have been mostly during solar minimum conditions with few major solar events. Starting with orbit 8 (i.e., 28 Apr. 2021), Parker flew through the magnetically dominated corona, i.e., sub-Alfv\'enic solar wind, which is one of the mission's primary objectives. In this paper, we present an overview of the scientific advances made mainly during the first four years of the Parker Solar Probe mission, which go well beyond the three science objectives that are: (1) Trace the flow of energy that heats and accelerates the solar corona and solar wind; (2) Determine the structure and dynamics of the plasma and magnetic fields at the sources of the solar wind; and (3) Explore mechanisms that accelerate and transport energetic particles., Comment: 157 pages, 65 figures

The origin of 3He abundance enhancements in coronal mass ejection (CME)-driven shock gradual solar energetic particle (SEP) events remains largely unexplained. Two mechanisms have been suggested - the re-acceleration of remnant flare material in interplanetary space and concomitant activity in the corona. We explore the first gradual SEP event with enhanced 3He abundance observed by Solar Orbiter. The event started on 2020 November 24 and was associated with a relatively fast halo CME. During the event, the spacecraft was at 0.9 au from the Sun. The event averaged 3He/4He abundance ratio is 24 times higher than the coronal or solar wind value, and the 3He intensity had timing similar to other species. We inspected available imaging, radio observations, and spacecraft magnetic connection to the CME source. It appears the most probable cause of the enhanced 3He abundance are residual 3He ions remaining from a preceding long period of 3He-rich SEPs on 2020 November 17-23., Comment: 9 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in A&A

Kollhoff, A., et al., Context. On 2020 November 29, the first widespread solar energetic particle (SEP) event of solar cycle 25 was observed at four widely separated locations in the inner (≲ 1 AU) heliosphere. Relativistic electrons as well as protons with energies > 50 MeV were observed by Solar Orbiter (SolO), Parker Solar Probe, the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO)-A and multiple near-Earth spacecraft. The SEP event was associated with an M4.4 class X-ray flare and accompanied by a coronal mass ejection and an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) wave as well as a type II radio burst and multiple type III radio bursts. Aims. We present multi-spacecraft particle observations and place them in context with source observations from remote sensing instruments and discuss how such observations may further our understanding of particle acceleration and transport in this widespread event. Methods. Velocity dispersion analysis (VDA) and time shift analysis (TSA) were used to infer the particle release times at the Sun. Solar wind plasma and magnetic field measurements were examined to identify structures that influence the properties of the energetic particles such as their intensity. Pitch angle distributions and first-order anisotropies were analyzed in order to characterize the particle propagation in the interplanetary medium. Results. We find that during the 2020 November 29 SEP event, particles spread over more than 230° in longitude close to 1 AU. The particle onset delays observed at the different spacecraft are larger as the flare-footpoint angle increases and are consistent with those from previous STEREO observations. Comparing the timing when the EUV wave intersects the estimated magnetic footpoints of each spacecraft with particle release times from TSA and VDA, we conclude that a simple scenario where the particle release is only determined by the EUV wave propagation is unlikely for this event. Observations of anisotropic particle distributions at SolO, Wind, and STEREO-A do not rule out that particles are injected over a wide longitudinal range close to the Sun. However, the low values of the first-order anisotropy observed by near-Earth spacecraft suggest that diffusive propagation processes are likely involved., The CAU Kiel team acknowledges support from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, the German Space Agency (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V., DLR) under grants 50OT0901, 50OT1202, 50OT1702, and 50OT2002. A.K. acknowledges financial support from the ANR COROSHOCK project (ANR-17-CE31-0006-01). D.L. acknowledges support from NASA-HGI grant NNX16AF73G and the NASA Program NNH17ZDA001N-LWS. This study has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 101004159 (SERPENTINE). The U. Turku team acknowledges funding by the Academy of Finland (Grant No. 336809). The UAH team acknowledges financial support by the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades FEDER/MCIU/AEI Projects ESP2017-88436-R and PID2019-104863RB-I00/AEI/10.13039/501100011033. [...] The Swedish National Space Agency, ESA-PRODEX and all the participating institutes. I.G.R. acknowledges support from NASA programs NNH19ZDA001N-HSR and NNH19ZDA001N-LWS, and the STEREO mission. IRFU team acknowledges support from the Swedish National Space Agency grant 20/136. A.A. acknowledges the support of the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MICINN) under grant PID2019- 105510GB-C31 and through the ‘Center of Excellence María de Maeztu 2020-2023’ award to the ICCUB (CEX2019-000918- M). F.C. acknowledges the financial support by the Spanish MINECO-FPI-2016 predoctoral grant with FSE. E.A. would like to acknowledge the financial support by the Academy of Finland (Postdoctoral Grant No 322455). V.K. acknowledges the support by NASA under grants 18-2HSWO218_2-0010 and 19-HSR-19_2-0143. Solar Orbiter magnetometer operations are funded by the UK Space Agency (grant ST/T001062/1). T.S.H. is supported by STFC grant ST/S000364/1. T.L. and S.D. acknowledge support from the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC; grant ST/R000425/1).

Aims. On 29 November 2020, at 12:34 UT, active region 12790 erupted with an M4.4 class flare and a 1700 km s−1 coronal mass ejection. Parker Solar Probe (PSP) was completing its seventh orbit around the Sun and was located at 0.8 au when the Integrated Science Investigation of the Sun (IS⊙IS) measured the ensuing mid-sized solar energetic particle (SEP) event. Not only was this the first SEP event with heavy ions above 10 MeV nuc−1 to be measured by IS⊙IS, it was also measured by several spacecraft positioned around the Sun, making it the first circumsolar event of solar cycle 25. Here we describe an overview of the SEP event characteristics at PSP. Methods. Fluence spectra for electrons, H, He, O, and Fe were calculated for the decay portion of the event. For the entire time period of the event, it was possible to calculate fluence spectra for electrons, O, and Fe only due to instrumental mode changes in one of the IS⊙IS telescopes, affecting H and He during the period of peak intensities. Using higher time resolution data, we also studied the onset of the event and temporal variations in the particle intensities at the shock and during the magnetic cloud passage. Results. During the decay, the ion spectra are consistent with power laws at low energies with an exponential rollover at a few MeV nuc−1, while the electron spectrum is consistent with a power law of index −5.3. Based on fits to the spectra, Fe/O and He/H abundance ratios as a function of energy are calculated and found to be nominal for large SEP events at hundreds of keV/nuc, but decrease strongly with increasing energy. The full-event spectra for O and Fe have similar shapes to those of the decay, but with higher roll-over energies. The electron spectrum for the full event is harder with an index of −3.4 and there is some evidence of higher energy components near ∼2 MeV and above ∼4 MeV. Despite the spacecraft being tilted 45° with respect to the nominal orientation of the spacecraft’s long axis pointed towards the Sun, there is some anisotropy apparent in MeV protons during the onset of the event. Velocity dispersion is also evident, consistent with a solar release time of 13:15 UT and pathlength of 1.3 au. The arrival of the related magnetic cloud resulted in the suppression of SEP intensities, although a brief increase in particle intensities suggests PSP moved out of the cloud for ∼30 min. This appears to be the first medium-sized event in the rise of cycle 25 activity, with additional large events likely to occur. Additional details of the event beyond this overview can be found in several related papers.

In this paper we examine a low-energy SEP event observed by IS$\odot$IS's Energetic Particle Instrument-Low (EPI-Lo) inside 0.18 AU on September 30, 2020. This small SEP event has a very interesting time profile and ion composition. Our results show that the maximum energy and peak in intensity is observed mainly along the open radial magnetic field. The event shows velocity dispersion, and strong particle anisotropies are observed throughout the event showing that more particles are streaming outward from the Sun. We do not see a shock in the in-situ plasma or magnetic field data throughout the event. Heavy ions, such as O and Fe were detected in addition to protons and 4He, but without significant enhancements in 3He or energetic electrons. Our analysis shows that this event is associated with a slow streamer-blowout coronal mass ejection (SBO-CME) and the signatures of this small CME event are consistent with those typical of larger CME events. The time-intensity profile of this event shows that PSP encountered the western flank of the SBO-CME. The anisotropic and dispersive nature of this event in a shockless local plasma give indications that these particles are most likely accelerated remotely near the Sun by a weak shock or compression wave ahead of the SBO-CME. This event may represent direct observations of the source of low-energy SEP seed particle population., Comment: 25 pages, 8 figures

The Integrated Science Investigation of the Sun instrument suite onboard NASA’s Parker Solar Probe mission continues to measure solar energetic particles and cosmic rays closer to the Sun than ever before. Here, we present the first observations of cosmic rays into 0.1 au (21.5 solar radii), focusing specifically on oxygen from ∼2018.7 to ∼2021.2. Our energy spectra reveal an anomalous cosmic-ray-dominated profile that is comparable to that at 1 au, across multiple solar cycle minima. The galactic cosmic-ray-dominated component is similar to that of the previous solar minimum (Solar Cycle 24/25 compared to 23/24) but elevated compared to the past (Solar Cycle 20/21). The findings are generally consistent with the current trend of unusually weak solar modulation that originated during the previous solar minimum and continues today. We also find a strong radial intensity gradient: 49.4 ± 8.0% au−1 from 0.1 to 0.94 au, for energies of 6.9–27 MeV nuc−1. This value agrees with that measured by Helios nearly 45 yr ago from 0.3 to 1.0 au (48% ± 12% au−1; 9–29 MeV nuc−1) and is larger than predicted by models. The large anomalous cosmic-ray gradients observed close to the Sun by the Parker Solar Probe Integrated Science Investigation of the Sun instrument suite found here suggest that intermediate-scale variations in the magnetic field’s structure strongly influence cosmic-ray drifts, well inside 1 au.

Context.Following a multi-year minimum of solar activity, a solar energetic particle event on 2020 Nov. 29 was observed by multiple spacecraft covering a wide range of solar longitudes including ACE, the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory-A, and the recently launched Parker Solar Probe and Solar Orbiter.Aims.Multi-point observations of a solar particle event, combined with remote-sensing imaging of flaring, shocks, and coronal mass ejections allows for a global picture of the event to be synthesized, and made available to the modeling community to test, constrain, and refine models of particle acceleration and transport according to such parameters as shock geometries and particle mass-to-charge ratios.Methods.Detailed measurements of heavy ion intensities, time dependence, fluences, and spectral slopes provided the required test data for this study.Results.The heavy ion abundances, timing, and spectral forms for this event fall well within the range found in prior surveys at 1 au. The spectra were well fitted by broken power law shapes; the Fe/O ratio was somewhat lower than the average of other events. In addition,3He/4He was very low, with only the upper limits established here.

Context. Silicon solid-state detectors are commonly used for measuring the specific ionization, dE∕dx, in instruments designed for identifying energetic nuclei using the dE∕dx versus total energy technique in space and in the laboratory. The energy threshold and species resolution of the technique strongly depend on the thickness and thickness uniformity of these detectors. Aims. Research has been carried out to develop processes for fabricating detectors that are thinner than 15 μm, that have a thickness uniformity better than 0.2 μm over cm2 areas, and that are rugged enough to survive the acoustic and vibration environments of a spacecraft launch. Methods. Silicon-on-insulator wafers that have a device layer of the desired detector thickness supported by a thick handle layer were used as starting material. Standard processing techniques were used to fabricate detectors on the device layer, and the underlying handle-layer material was etched away leaving a thin, uniform detector surrounded by a thick, supporting frame. Results. Detectors as thin as 12 μm were fabricated in two laboratories and successfully subjected to environmental and performance tests. Two detector designs were used in the High-energy Energetic Particles Instrument, which is part of the Integrated Science Investigation of the Sun instrument suite on NASA’s Parker Solar Probe spacecraft. These detectors have been performing well for more than two years in space. Conclusions. Thin silicon detectors in d E∕dx versus total energy instruments enable the identification of nuclei with energies down to ~1 MeV nuc−1. This research suggests that detectors at least a factor of two thinner should be achievable using this fabrication technique.

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe mission continues to travel closer to the Sun than any prior human-made object, with an expected closest approach of

The current understanding of the characteristics of solar and inner heliospheric electron events is inferred almost entirely from observations made by spacecraft located at 1 astronomical unit (au). Previous observations within 1 au of the Sun, by the Helios spacecraft at ∼0.3–1 au, indicate the presence of electron events that are not detected at 1 au or may have merged during transport from the Sun. Parker Solar Probe’s close proximity to the Sun at perihelion provides an opportunity to make the closest measurements yet of energetic electron events. We present an overview of measurements of electrons with energies between ∼17 keV and ∼1 MeV made by the Parker Solar Probe Integrated Science Investigation of the Sun (IS⊙IS) instrument suite during Encounter 2 (2019 March 31–April 10 with perihelion of ∼0.17 au), including several small electron events. We examine these events in the context of the electromagnetic and solar wind environment measured by the FIELDS and SWEAP instruments on Parker Solar Probe. We find most of these electron enhancements to be associated with type III radio emissions that reach the local plasma frequency and one enhancement that appears to be primarily associated with abrupt changes in the local magnetic field. Together, these associations suggest that these are indeed the first measurements of energetic electron events within 0.2 au.

The Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE), which carries instrumentation for making high-precision measurements of the charge and mass of energetic nuclei between ∼1 keV/nuc and ∼1 GeV/nuc, was launched in August 1997 into an orbit about the L1 Lagrangian point 1.5 million km sunward of the Earth. From this vantage point, ACE collects data that are used for a wide range of studies in galactic and heliospheric physics. The ACE spacecraft and instruments are, for the most part, continuing to perform very well and to extend their data sets. The long mission duration, which is already almost an order of magnitude greater than the two years that was nominally required of ACE, has made it possible to address science topics beyond those envisioned when the mission was proposed. In this paper we address several topics to which ACE’s Cosmic Ray Isotope Spectrometer (CRIS) is contributing in the area of galactic cosmic radiation. CRIS has been able to make measurements of extremely rare species, including the primary radioactive nuclide 60Fe and a number of stable “ultraheavy” elements with atomic numbers in the range Z=30 to 40. In addition, elemental energy spectra have now been measured over a significant fraction of two solar cycles, thereby enabling studies of the time dependence of the solar modulation of galactic cosmic rays.

The pitch-angle distributions of solar energetic particles (SEPs) provide a wealth of information about particle transport through interplanetary space, and depend on the magnetic field strength, topology, and turbulence at remote heliospheric locations. The Low Energy Telescope (LET) on STEREO measures angular distributions in the ecliptic for SEP ions from protons to iron with energies of about 2--12 MeV/nucleon. At the onset of the 23 July 2012 extreme SEP event, a beamed distribution was observed at STEREO-Ahead using LET. We have previously reported apparent "oscillations" in the pitch-angle width of this beam when using simultaneous particle and magnetic field measurements at a 1-minute cadence. We have now determined that this behavior is largely a result of the effects of magnetic turbulence on the calculated particle pitch angle distributions. The locally measured magnetic field direction varies relatively rapidly, while the energetic particle distribution is governed by magnetic fields averaged over much larger spatial and temporal scales than represented by solar wind measurements at the same cadence. Similar behavior in earlier events has been reported by others and analyzed in the framework of quasilinear theory.

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe (PSP) spacecraft (formerly Solar Probe Plus) is scheduled for launch in July 2018 with a planned heliocentric orbit that will carry it on a series of close passes by the Sun with perihelion distances that eventually will get below 10 solar radii. Among other in-situ and imaging sensors, the PSP payload includes the two-instrument “Integrated Science Investigation of the Sun” suite, which will make coordinated measurements of energetic ions and electrons. The high-energy instrument (EPI-Hi), operating in the MeV energy range, consists of three detector-telescopes using silicon solid-state sensors for measuring composition, energy spectra, angular distributions, and time structure in solar energetic particle events. The expected performance of this instrument has been studied using accelerator calibrations, radioactive-source tests, and simulations. We present the EPI-Hi measurement capabilities drawing on these calibration data and simulation results for illustrations.

Heavy ion ratio abundances in Solar Energetic Particle (SEP) events, e.g.~Fe/O, often exhibit decreases over time. Using particle instruments on the ACE, SOHO and STEREO spacecraft, we analysed heavy ion data from 4 SEP events taking place between December 2006 and December 2014. We constructed 36 different ionic pairs and studied their time evolution in each event. We quantified the temporal behaviour of abundant SEP ratios by fitting the data to derive a decay time constant $B$. We also considered the ratio of ionic mass--to--charge for each pair, the $S$ value given e.g.~for Fe/O by $S_{\rm Fe/O} = (M/Q)_{\rm Fe}\big/(M/Q)_{\rm O}$. We found that the temporal behaviour of SEP ratios is ordered by the value of $S$: ratios with $S>1$ showed decreases over time (i.e.~$B0$). We plotted $B$ as a function of $S$ and observed a clear monotonic dependence: ratios with a large $S$ decayed at a higher rate. A prominent discontinuity at $S=2.0$ (corresponding to He/H) was found in 3 of the 4 events, suggesting anomalous behaviour of protons. The X/H ratios often show an initial increase followed by a decrease, and decay at a slower rate. We discuss possible causes of the observed $B$ versus $S$ trends within current understanding of SEP propagation., Astrophysical Journal, submitted

Solar energetic particle (SEP) pitch-angle distributions are shaped by the competing effects of magnetic focusing and scattering as the particles travel through interplanetary space. Therefore, measurements of SEP anisotropies provide insight into particle transport and can probe interplanetary conditions at remote locations from the observer. The Low Energy Telescopes (LETs) onboard the twin STEREO spacecraft measure pitch-angle distributions for protons and heavier ions at energies of about 2-12 MeV/nucleon. Using these instruments, we have observed a wide variety of SEP anisotropies, such as bidirectional flows within interplanetary coronal mass ejections, sunward-flowing particles when the spacecraft was magnetically connected to the back side of a distant shock, and loss-cone distributions in which particles with large pitch angles magnetically mirror at an interplanetary field enhancement that is too weak to reflect particles with the smallest pitch angles. One of the more puzzling observations is unusual oscillations on a timescale of several minutes in the width of a beamed distribution at the onset of the very large 23 July 2012 SEP event. We report LET anisotropy observations at both STEREO spacecraft during the extreme event of 23 July 2012, in which a large range of anisotropies were observed at various times during the event, and discuss their implications for SEP transport.

Through new missions and unusual solar conditions, solar cycle 24 has afforded the opportunity for expanding our understanding of solar energetic particle (SEP) acceleration and transport. With complementary SEP observations from multiple spacecraft separated significantly in longitude, it has been possible to examine the longitudinal distribution of energetic particles in individual events, rather than relying on statistical event studies. Unprecedented 360° views of the Sun, in multiple wavelengths and coronagraphs, has made it possible to identify solar source regions regardless of where they are located and to more accurately determine the properties of related coronal mass ejections. The unusually quiet conditions during the onset of cycle 24 allowed smaller SEP events to be examined and their source regions to be unambiguously identified. This paper reviews some of the unexpected results from multi-spacecraft SEP observations made over this solar cycle and discusses their implications for particle acceleration near the Sun and transport through the inner heliosphere.

As solar energetic particles (SEPs) travel through interplanetary space, their pitch-angle distributions are shaped by the competing effects of magnetic focusing and scattering. Measurements of SEP anisotropies can therefore reveal information about interplanetary conditions such as magnetic field strength, topology, and turbulence levels at remote locations from the observer. Onboard each of the two STEREO spacecraft, the Low Energy Telescope (LET) measures pitch-angle distributions for protons and heavier ions up to iron at energies of about 2-12 MeV/nucleon. Anisotropies observed using LET include bidirectional flows within interplanetary coronal mass ejections, sunward-flowing particles when STEREO was magnetically connected to the back side of a shock, and loss-cone distributions in which particles with large pitch angles underwent magnetic mirroring at an interplanetary field enhancement that was too weak to reflect particles with the smallest pitch angles. Unusual oscillations in the width of a beamed distribution at the onset of the 23 July 2012 SEP event were also observed and remain puzzling. We report LET anisotropy observations at both STEREO spacecraft and discuss their implications for SEP transport, focusing exclusively on the extreme event of 23 July 2012 in which a large variety of anisotropies were present at various times during the event.

A systematic study of energetic ion trajectories in Jupiter's plasma sheet region predicts a significant role for both regular and stochastic types of motion and reveals several aspects of the ion dynamics that aid in the interpretation of Galileo observations. The motion is generally confined to the vicinity of the current sheet in a way that is proportional to the variable current sheet thickness as seen in the particle and field data. The radial extent of the trajectories increases with rigidity and initial radial distance from the planet, explaining the corresponding lack of high-rigidity ions and decreasing radial gradients at lower rigidity. Ion intensity increases associated with changes in current sheet thickness suggest an acceleration region at ∼25 to 30 R_J. Energy dispersion in ion events at larger radial distances can be explained by such a source combined with elastic ion scattering.