Energetic Radiation from Subsequent-Stroke Leaders: The Role of Reduced Air Density in Decayed Lightning Channels

Leaders of subsequent strokes in negative cloud-to-ground lightning are known to produce X-ray/gamma-ray emissions detectable at distances of a few kilometers or less from the lightning channel. These leaders usually develop in decayed but still warm channels of preceding strokes. We computed electr...

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Main Authors: Istvan Kereszy, Vladimir Rakov, Levente Czumbil, Alexandru Muresan, Ziqin Ding, Dan Micu, Vernon Cooray
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2022-07-01
Series:Applied Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/12/15/7520
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author Istvan Kereszy
Vladimir Rakov
Levente Czumbil
Alexandru Muresan
Ziqin Ding
Dan Micu
Vernon Cooray
author_facet Istvan Kereszy
Vladimir Rakov
Levente Czumbil
Alexandru Muresan
Ziqin Ding
Dan Micu
Vernon Cooray
author_sort Istvan Kereszy
collection DOAJ
description Leaders of subsequent strokes in negative cloud-to-ground lightning are known to produce X-ray/gamma-ray emissions detectable at distances of a few kilometers or less from the lightning channel. These leaders usually develop in decayed but still warm channels of preceding strokes. We computed electric field waveforms at different points along the path of subsequent leader as those points are traversed by the leader tip. For a typical subsequent leader, the electric field peak is a few MV/m, which is sufficient for production of energetic radiation in a warm (reduced air density) channel. We examined the dependence of electric field peak on the leader model input parameters, including the prospective return-stroke peak current (a proxy for the leader tip potential) and leader propagation speed, and compared model predictions with measurements.
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spelling doaj.art-4be6a71d7a014b04af09c4371056b02f2023-12-03T12:27:45ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172022-07-011215752010.3390/app12157520Energetic Radiation from Subsequent-Stroke Leaders: The Role of Reduced Air Density in Decayed Lightning ChannelsIstvan Kereszy0Vladimir Rakov1Levente Czumbil2Alexandru Muresan3Ziqin Ding4Dan Micu5Vernon Cooray6Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USADepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USAElectrotechnics and Measurements Department, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, 400114 Cluj-Napoca, RomaniaElectrotechnics and Measurements Department, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, 400114 Cluj-Napoca, RomaniaDepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USAElectrotechnics and Measurements Department, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, 400114 Cluj-Napoca, RomaniaDivision for Electricity, Department of Engineering Sciences, Uppsala University, 751 05 Uppsala, SwedenLeaders of subsequent strokes in negative cloud-to-ground lightning are known to produce X-ray/gamma-ray emissions detectable at distances of a few kilometers or less from the lightning channel. These leaders usually develop in decayed but still warm channels of preceding strokes. We computed electric field waveforms at different points along the path of subsequent leader as those points are traversed by the leader tip. For a typical subsequent leader, the electric field peak is a few MV/m, which is sufficient for production of energetic radiation in a warm (reduced air density) channel. We examined the dependence of electric field peak on the leader model input parameters, including the prospective return-stroke peak current (a proxy for the leader tip potential) and leader propagation speed, and compared model predictions with measurements.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/12/15/7520lightning channellightning leader modelelectric fieldX-rays/gamma-rays
spellingShingle Istvan Kereszy
Vladimir Rakov
Levente Czumbil
Alexandru Muresan
Ziqin Ding
Dan Micu
Vernon Cooray
Energetic Radiation from Subsequent-Stroke Leaders: The Role of Reduced Air Density in Decayed Lightning Channels
Applied Sciences
lightning channel
lightning leader model
electric field
X-rays/gamma-rays
title Energetic Radiation from Subsequent-Stroke Leaders: The Role of Reduced Air Density in Decayed Lightning Channels
title_full Energetic Radiation from Subsequent-Stroke Leaders: The Role of Reduced Air Density in Decayed Lightning Channels
title_fullStr Energetic Radiation from Subsequent-Stroke Leaders: The Role of Reduced Air Density in Decayed Lightning Channels
title_full_unstemmed Energetic Radiation from Subsequent-Stroke Leaders: The Role of Reduced Air Density in Decayed Lightning Channels
title_short Energetic Radiation from Subsequent-Stroke Leaders: The Role of Reduced Air Density in Decayed Lightning Channels
title_sort energetic radiation from subsequent stroke leaders the role of reduced air density in decayed lightning channels
topic lightning channel
lightning leader model
electric field
X-rays/gamma-rays
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/12/15/7520
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