Heavy Ion Measurements with the Solar Orbiter Energetic Particle Detector

Due to their wide variety in mass and charge, heavy ions (with atomic number Z>1) can be utilized as sensitive diagnostic tool for different particle acceleration mechanisms that act in the heliosphere. We present heavy ion data from the combined in-situ measurements of the Solar Orbiter Energetic Particle Detector Suprathermal Ion Spectrograph and High Energy Telescope (SOLO/EPD SIS and HET) recorded between 0.5 and 1 AU over the first six months of the SOLO science phase from June to December 2020. The SIS sensor measures heavy ions from 14 keV/nuc up to 20 MeV/nuc while HET measures the same species (i.e. He, C, N, O, Ne, Mg, Si, S, Ca, Fe charge states) from a few MeV/nuc to several hundred MeV/nuc so that the full range from suprathermal to solar energetic particles can be observed simultaneously. These measurements will allow us to gain a better quantitative understanding how ions in the inner heliosphere are accelerated to high energies e.g. in solar wind compression regions or shocks, and how suprathermal and energetic ions might be linked in this process.