Solar energetic particles injected inside and outside a magnetic cloud: The widespread solar energetic particle event on 2022 January 20

Abstract

Context. On 2022 January 20, the Energetic Particle Detector (EPD) on board Solar Orbiter measured a solar energetic particle (SEP) event showing unusual first arriving particles from the anti-Sun direction. Near-Earth spacecraft separated 17° in longitude to the west from Solar Orbiter measured classic antisunward-directed fluxes. STEREO-A and MAVEN, separated 18° to the east and 143° to the west from Solar Orbiter respectively, also observed the event, suggesting that particles spread over at least 160° in the heliosphere.
Results. Solar Orbiter was embedded in a MC erupting on 16 January from the same active region as the one related to the SEP event on 20 January. The SEP event is related to a M5.5 flare and a fast CME-driven shock of 1433 km/s, which injected particles within and outside the MC. The hard SEP spectra, the presence of a Type II radio burst, and the co-temporal Type III radio bursts being observed from 80 MHz that seems to emanate from the Type II, points to the shock as the relevant accelerator of the particles.
Conclusions. The detailed analysis of the SEP event strongly suggest that the energetic particles are injected mainly by a CME-driven shock into and outside of a previous MC present in the heliosphere at the time of the particle onset. The sunward propagating SEPs measured by Solar Orbiter are produced by the injection of particles along the longer (western) leg of the MC still connected to the Sun at the time of the release of the particles. The determined electron propagation path length inside the MC is around 30% longer than the estimated length of the loop leg of the MC itself (based on the graduated cylindrical shell model) consistent with a low number of field line rotations.