EPD - The Energetic Particle Detector

The Energetic Particle Detector (EPD) is a suite of four instruments, which can detect in-situ energetic electrons, protons, and ions that have been accelerated in the solar corona and heliosphere. The four units are the SupraThermal Electrons and Protons (STEP) instrument, the Electron Proton Telescope (EPT), the Suprathermal Ion Spectrograph (SIS), and the High-Energy Telescope (HET). EPD has been designed and built by a consortium led by the Universidad de Alcalá in Spain, with a strong involvement from the Christian-Albrechts-Universität in Kiel. The AIP contributed to the construction of the Electron Proton Telescope (EPT).

During operations, the team at AIP will build, maintain, and publish a list of events seen simultaneously with STIX and EPD. A detailed analysis of such events will be of crucial importance to answer one of the key questions addressed by Solar Orbiter: how do solar eruptions produce energetic particle radiation that fills the heliosphere?