Current understanding of SEP acceleration and propagation

Abstract

The solar energetic particle (SEP) populations of electrons and ions are highly variable in space and time, in intensity, energy, and composition. Over the last ~20 years advanced instrumentation onboard many spacecraft (e.g. ACE, Coronas, GOES, Hinode, RHESSI, SAMPEX, SDO, SOHO, STEREO, TRACE, Ulysses, Yokoh, to name a few) extended our ability to explore the characteristics of solar energetic particles by in-situ measurements in interplanetary space and by observing their source characteristics near the Sun by remote-sensing observation of electromagnetic emission over a wide frequency range. These measurements provide crucial information for understanding the sources of the particle populations and the acceleration and propagation processes involved. We are now able to measure intensity-time profiles and anisotropies, energy spectra, elemental and isotopic abundances, and the ionic charge of particles over an extended energy range of 0.01 to several 100 MeV/nuc and for a large dynamic range of particle intensities. Furthermore, multi-spacecraft in-situ observations at different solar longitudes and latitudes provide new insight into the acceleration and propagation processes of SEPs near the Sun and in interplanetary space. In this paper we present an overview of SEP observations, their implications for SEP acceleration and propagation processes, and discuss open questions.