skip to main content
US FlagAn official website of the United States government
dot gov icon
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
https lock icon
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( lock ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Explore Research Products in the PAR
It may take a few hours for recently added research products to appear in PAR search results.


Title: Photoelectric Effect in Air Explains Lightning Initiation and Terrestrial Gamma Ray Flashes
Abstract Terrestrial gamma ray flashes (TGFs) are high‐energy photon bursts that have been linked to short bursts of electromagnetic radiation associated with lightning activity. The most puzzling unexplained aspect of these events is that gamma rays originate from very compact regions of space while the source regions often seem to be optically dim and radio silent when compared to processes in ordinary lightning discharges. In this work, we report a mechanism that allows precise quantitative explanation of these peculiar features of TGFs and their relationships to the observed waveform characteristics of associated radio emissions. The mechanism represents an extension of earlier ideas on feedback processes in growth of relativistic runaway electron avalanches (Dwyer, 2003,https://doi.org/10.1029/2003GL017781), and is based on a recent demonstration of the dominant role of the photoelectric feedback on compact spatial scales (Pasko, Celestin, et al., 2023,https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GL102710). Since discussed events often occur in isolation or precede formation of lightning discharges, the reported findings propose a straightforward solution for the long‐standing problem of lightning initiation.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
2341623
PAR ID:
10646248
Author(s) / Creator(s):
 ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  
Publisher / Repository:
DOI PREFIX: 10.1029
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres
Volume:
130
Issue:
14
ISSN:
2169-897X
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
More Like this
  1. ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; (, Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres)
    Abstract We report on the mountain top observation of three terrestrial gamma‐ray flashes (TGFs) that occurred during the summer storm season of 2021. To our knowledge, these are the first TGFs observed in a mountaintop environment and the first published European TGFs observed from the ground. A gamma‐ray sensitive detector was located at the base of the Säntis Tower in Switzerland and observed three unique TGF events with coincident radio sferic data characteristic of TGFs seen from space. We will show an example of a “slow pulse” radio signature (Cummer et al., 2011,https://doi.org/10.1029/2011GL048099; Lu et al., 2011,https://doi.org/10.1029/2010JA016141; Pu et al., 2019,https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL082743; Pu et al., 2020,https://doi.org/10.1029/2020GL089427), a −EIP (Lyu et al., 2016,https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL070154; Lyu et al., 2021,https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GL093627; Wada et al., 2020,https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JD031730), and a double peak TGF associated with an extraordinarily powerful and complicated positive‐polarity sferic, where each TGF peak is possibly preceded by a short burst of stepped leader emission. 
    more » « less
  2. ; ; ; ; (, Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres)
    Abstract We provide an updated analysis of the gamma ray signature of a terrestrial gamma ray flash (TGF) detected by the Fermi Gamma ray Burst Monitor first reported by Pu et al. (2020,https://doi.org/10.1029/2020GL089427). A TGF produced 3 ms prior to a negative cloud‐to‐ground return stroke was close to simultaneous with an isolated low‐frequency radio pulse during the leader’s propagation, with a polarity indicating downward moving negative charge. In previous observations, this “slow” low‐frequency signal has been strongly correlated with upward‐directed (opposite polarity) TGF events (Pu et al., 2019,https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL082743; Cummer et al., 2011,https://doi.org/10.1029/2011GL048099), leading the authors to conclude that the Fermi gamma ray observation is actually the result of a reverse positron beam generating upward‐directed gamma rays. We investigate the feasibility of this scenario and determine a lower limit on the luminosity of the downward TGF from the perspective of gamma ray timing uncertainties, TGF Monte Carlo simulations, and meteorological analysis of a model storm cell and its possible charge structure altitudes. We determined that the most likely source altitude of the TGF reverse beam was 7.5 km ± 2.6 km, just below an estimated negative charge center at 8 km. At that altitude, the Monte Carlo simulations indicate a lower luminosity limit of 2 × 1018photons above 1 MeV for the main downward beam of the TGF, making the reverse beam detectable by the Fermi Gamma ray Burst Monitor. 
    more » « less
  3. ; ; ; ; (, Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres)
    Abstract In 2015, Bowers et al. (2018,https://doi.org/10.1029/2017JD027771) detected a terrestrial gamma ray flash (TGF) in Hurricane Patricia from an aircraft flying at 2.6 km through what they argued to be a beam of downward gamma radiation produced by the positron component of the TGF. This paper uses the energy spectrum for gamma rays produced by the positrons of a relativistic runaway electron avalanche as simulated by the REAM code, propagated through a model of the Earth's atmosphere in Geant4, to examine the feasibility of detecting a typical upward TGF through its reverse positron beam at various altitudes on the ground. We find that, with patience, modest‐sized scintillators on mountains as low as 1 km should be able to observe the same TGFs seen from spacecraft. 
    more » « less
  4. (, Geophysical Research Letters)
    Abstract This letter compares the predictions of two expressions proposed for the porosity evolution in the context of rate and state friction. One (Segall & Rice, 1995,https://doi.org/10.1029/95jb02403) depends only on the sliding velocity; the other (Sleep, 1995,https://doi.org/10.1029/94jb03340) depends only on the state variable. Simulations of both are similar for velocity stepping and slide‐hold‐slide experiments. They differ significantly for normal effective stress jumps at constant sliding velocity. Segall and Rice (1995,https://doi.org/10.1029/95jb02403) predicts no change in the porosity; Sleep (1995,https://doi.org/10.1029/94jb03340) does. Simulation with a spring‐block model indicates that the magnitude of rapid slip events is essentially the same for the two formulations. Variations of porosity and induced pore pressure near rapid slip events are similar and consistent with experimental observations. Predicted porosity variations during slow slip intervals and the time at which rapid slip events occur are significantly different. The simulation indicates that changes in friction stress due to pore pressure changes exceed those due to rate and state effects. 
    more » « less
  5. ; ; (, Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres)
    Abstract Fast breakdown (FB), a breakdown process composed of systems of high‐velocity streamers, has been observed to precede lightning leader formation and play a critical role in lightning initiation. Vigorous FB events are responsible for the most powerful natural radio emissions on Earth, known as narrow bipolar events (NBEs). In this paper, an improved version of the Griffiths and Phelps (1976,https://doi.org/10.1029/jc081i021p03671) model of streamer breakdown is used alongside supervised machine learning techniques to probe the required electric fields and potentials inside thunderstorms to produce FB and NBEs. Our results show that the electrostatic conditions needed to produceFB observed in New Mexico at 9 km altitude andFB in Florida at 14 km altitude are about the same, each requiring about 100 MV potential difference to propagate 500 m. Additionally, the model illustrates how electric field enhancement ahead of propagating FB can initiate rebounding FB of the opposite polarity. 
    more » « less
  • Citation Formats
  • MLA
  • APA
  • Chicago
  • BibTeX
  • Save / Share this Record
  • Send to Email