Ion Runaway in Lightning Discharges

Runaway ions can be produced in plasmas with large electric fields, where the accelerating electric force is augmented by the low mean ionic charge due to the imbalance between the number of electrons and ions. Here we derive an expression for the high-energy tail of the ion distribution function in...

Πλήρης περιγραφή

Λεπτομέρειες βιβλιογραφικής εγγραφής
Κύριοι συγγραφείς: Landreman, Matthew Joseph, Fulop, T.
Άλλοι συγγραφείς: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Plasma Science and Fusion Center
Μορφή: Άρθρο
Γλώσσα:en_US
Έκδοση: American Physical Society 2013
Διαθέσιμο Online:http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/80296
Περιγραφή
Περίληψη:Runaway ions can be produced in plasmas with large electric fields, where the accelerating electric force is augmented by the low mean ionic charge due to the imbalance between the number of electrons and ions. Here we derive an expression for the high-energy tail of the ion distribution function in lightning discharges and investigate the energy range that the ions can reach. We also estimate the corresponding energetic proton and neutron production due to fusion reactions.