The Solar Probe ANalyzers -- Electrons on Parker Solar Probe
Abstract
Electrostatic analyzers of different designs have been used since the earliest days of the space age, beginning with the very earliest solar wind measurements made by Mariner 2 en route to Venus in 1962. The Parker Solar Probe (PSP) mission, NASA's first dedicated mission to study the innermost reaches of the heliosphere, makes its thermal plasma measurements using a suite of instruments called the Solar Wind Electrons, Alphas, and Protons (SWEAP) investigation. SWEAP's electron Parker Solar Probe Analyzer (SPAN-E) instruments are a pair of top-hat electrostatic analyzers on PSP that are capable of measuring the electron distribution function in the solar wind from 2 eV to 30 keV. For the first time, in-situ measurements of thermal electrons provided by SPAN-E will help reveal the heating and acceleration mechanisms driving the evolution of the solar wind at the points of acceleration and heating, closer than ever before to the Sun. This paper details the design of the SPAN-E sensors and their operation, data formats, and measurement caveats from Parker Solar Probe's first two close encounters with the Sun.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2002.04080,
title = {The Solar Probe ANalyzers -- Electrons on Parker Solar Probe},
author = {Phyllis L Whittlesey and Davin E Larson and Justin C Kasper and Jasper Halekas and Mamuda Abatcha and Robert Abiad and M. Berthomier and A. W. Case and Jianxin Chen and David W Curtis and Gregory Dalton and Kristopher G Klein and Kelly E Korreck and Roberto Livi and Michael Ludlam and Mario Marckwordt and Ali Rahmati and Miles Robinson and Amanda Slagle and M L Stevens and Chris Tiu and J L Verniero},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2002.04080},
year = {2020}
}
Comments
This draft has been Accepted in the Astrophysical Journal Special issue for Parker Solar Probe