Aims. The Parker Solar Probe (PSP) orbit provides an opportunity to study the inner heliosphere at distances closer to the Sun than previously possible. Due to the solar minimum conditions, the initial orbits of PSP yielded only a few solar energetic particle (SEP) events for study. Recently during the fifth orbit, at distances from 0.45 to 0.3 au, the energetic particle suite on PSP, Integrated Science Investigation of the Sun (IS⊙IS), observed a series of six SEP events, adding to the limited number of SEP events studied inside of 0.5 au. Variations in the H and He spectra and the He/H abundance ratio are examined and discussed in relation to the identified solar source regions and activity. Methods. IS⊙IS measures the energetic particle environment from ~20 keV to >100 MeV/nuc. Six events were selected using the ~1 MeV proton intensities, and while small, they were sufficient to calculate proton and helium spectra from ~1 to ~10 MeV/nuc. For the three larger events, the He/H ratio as a function of energy was determined. Using the timing of the associated radio bursts, solar sources were identified for each event and the eruptions were examined in extreme ultraviolet emission. Results. The largest of the selected events has peak ~1 MeV proton intensities of 3.75 (cm2 sr s MeV)−1. Within uncertainties, the He and H spectra have similar power law forms with indices ranging from −2.3 to −3.3. For the three largest events, the He/H ratios are found to be relatively energy independent; however, the ratios differ substantially with values of 0.0033 ± 0.0013, 0.177 ± 0.047, and 0.016 ± 0.009. An additional compositional variation is evident in both the 3He and electron signatures. These variations are particularly interesting as the three larger events are likely a result of similar eruptions from the same active region.

At the end of 2020 November, two coronal mass ejections (CMEs) erupted from the Sun and propagated through the interplanetary medium in the direction of Parker Solar Probe while the spacecraft was located at ∼0.81 au. The passage of these interplanetary CMEs (ICMEs) starting on November 29 (DOY 334) produced the largest enhancement of energetic ions and electrons observed by the Integrated Science Investigation of the Sun (IS⊙IS) energetic particle instrument suite on board Parker Solar Probe during the mission’s first eight orbits. This was also the first spatially widespread solar energetic particle event observed in solar cycle 25. We investigate several key characteristics of the energetic electron event including the time profile and anisotropy distribution of near-relativistic electrons as measured by IS⊙IS’s low-energy Energetic Particle Instrument (EPI-Lo) and compare these observations with contextual data from the Parker Solar Probe Fields Experiment magnetometer. These are the first electron anisotropy measurements from IS⊙IS/EPI-Lo, demonstrating that the instrument can successfully produce these measurements. We find that the electron count rate peaks at the time of the shock driven by the faster of the two ICMEs, implying that the shock parameters of this ICME are conducive to the acceleration of electrons. Additionally, the angular distribution of the electrons during the passage of the magnetic clouds associated with the ICMEs shows significant anisotropy, with electrons moving primarily parallel and antiparallel to the local magnetic field as well as bidirectionally, providing an indication of the ICME’s magnetic topology and connectivity to the Sun or magnetic structures in the inner heliosphere.

Aims. On 29 November 2020, at 12:34 UT, active region 12790 erupted with an M4.4 class flare and a 1700 km s−1 coronal mass ejection. Parker Solar Probe (PSP) was completing its seventh orbit around the Sun and was located at 0.8 au when the Integrated Science Investigation of the Sun (IS⊙IS) measured the ensuing mid-sized solar energetic particle (SEP) event. Not only was this the first SEP event with heavy ions above 10 MeV nuc−1 to be measured by IS⊙IS, it was also measured by several spacecraft positioned around the Sun, making it the first circumsolar event of solar cycle 25. Here we describe an overview of the SEP event characteristics at PSP. Methods. Fluence spectra for electrons, H, He, O, and Fe were calculated for the decay portion of the event. For the entire time period of the event, it was possible to calculate fluence spectra for electrons, O, and Fe only due to instrumental mode changes in one of the IS⊙IS telescopes, affecting H and He during the period of peak intensities. Using higher time resolution data, we also studied the onset of the event and temporal variations in the particle intensities at the shock and during the magnetic cloud passage. Results. During the decay, the ion spectra are consistent with power laws at low energies with an exponential rollover at a few MeV nuc−1, while the electron spectrum is consistent with a power law of index −5.3. Based on fits to the spectra, Fe/O and He/H abundance ratios as a function of energy are calculated and found to be nominal for large SEP events at hundreds of keV/nuc, but decrease strongly with increasing energy. The full-event spectra for O and Fe have similar shapes to those of the decay, but with higher roll-over energies. The electron spectrum for the full event is harder with an index of −3.4 and there is some evidence of higher energy components near ∼2 MeV and above ∼4 MeV. Despite the spacecraft being tilted 45° with respect to the nominal orientation of the spacecraft’s long axis pointed towards the Sun, there is some anisotropy apparent in MeV protons during the onset of the event. Velocity dispersion is also evident, consistent with a solar release time of 13:15 UT and pathlength of 1.3 au. The arrival of the related magnetic cloud resulted in the suppression of SEP intensities, although a brief increase in particle intensities suggests PSP moved out of the cloud for ∼30 min. This appears to be the first medium-sized event in the rise of cycle 25 activity, with additional large events likely to occur. Additional details of the event beyond this overview can be found in several related papers.