Page History

As Solar Orbiter approaches the Sun, the photon and particle signatures from small events will increase by 1/r^2, making it possible to observe events 15-20 times smaller than ever before, in effect opening a new window for SEP processes. We may detect for the first time energetic particle populations from X-ray micro flaresmicroflares, a candidate mechanism for coronal heating that cannot be studied further away from the Sun due to background problems. For the small flares that produce X-ray, electron, and 3He-enrichments we will observe with great accuracy events that at 1 AU are not far above the level of detection: the timing of particle and radio signatures, the composition and spectra, etc., providing strong new constraints on the process operating in these events. Particle acceleration on coronal loops will have new insights since the 1/r^2 sensitivity advantage and viewing geometry will make it possible to view the X-ray emission from the tops of loops in numerous cases where the much stronger footpoint sources are occulted behind the solar limb. These studies of faint coronal sources that are only rarely observable from 1 AU will give crucial information about the location and plasma properties of suspected electron acceleration sites in the high corona.