The Solar Orbiter Energetic Particle Detector

Energetic particles in the heliosphere obtain their elevated energetic status after three processes: injection, acceleration, and transport. Suprathermal seed particles have speeds well above the fast magnetosonic speed in the solar wind frame of reference and can vary from location to location and within the solar activity cycle. Acceleration sites include reconnecting current sheets in solar flares or magnetspheric boundaries, shocks in the solar corona and heliosphere and at planetary obstacles, as well as planetary magnetospheres. Once accelerated, particles are transported from the acceleration site into and through the heliosphere. Thus, by investigating properties of energetic particles such as their composition, energy spectra, pitch-angle distribution, etc. one can attempt to distinguish their origin or injection and acceleration site. This in turn allows us to better understand transport effects whose underlying microphysics is also a key ingredient in the acceleration of particles. In this poster we will present the Energetic Particle Detector (EPD) on Solar Orbiter, its status and capabilities, and consider implications for the key science goal of Solar Orbiter and Parker Solar Probe - How the Sun creates and controls the heliosphere.