Detection of Dust Grains by Solar Orbiter and Parker Solar Probe

The dust impact detection by electric field instruments is already a well-established technique. On the other hand, not all aspects of signal generation by dust impacts and its consequent detection are completely understood and explained. It has been shown that the design and configuration (monopole/dipole) of the electric field antennas/probes as well as the ambient environment are very important for dust impact detection and understanding of the measured signal. Therefore, it is not straightforward to compare detected signals by various spacecraft in different environments. We have analyzed individual electric field waveforms of dust impacts including atypical events detected by Solar Orbiter and Parker Solar Probe to understand similarities and differences of dust detection by these spacecraft. This understanding will allow us to reliably compare obtained dust fluxes among these missions.