E. S. Cramer

The rarity of terrestrial gamma‐ray flashes

We report on the first search for Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flashes (TGFs) from altitudes where they are thought to be produced. The Airborne Detector for Energetic Lightning Emissions (ADELE), an array of gamma-ray detectors, was flown near the tops of Florida thunderstorms in August/September 2009. The plane passed within 10 km horizontal distance of 1213 lightning discharges and only once detected a TGF. If these discharges had produced TGFs of the same intensity as those seen from space, every one should have been seen by ADELE. Separate and significant nondetections are established for intracloud lightning, negative cloud-to-ground lightning, and narrow bipolar events. We conclude that TGFs are not a primary triggering mechanism for lightning. We estimate the TGF-to-flash ratio to be on the order of 10^(−2) to 10^(−3) and show that TGF intensities cannot follow the well-known power-law distribution seen in earthquakes and solar flares, due to our limits on the presence of faint events.

A terrestrial gamma ray flash observed from an aircraft

On 21 August 2009, the Airborne Detector for Energetic Lightning Emissions (ADELE), an array of six gamma-ray detectors, detected a brief burst of gamma rays while flying aboard a Gulfstream V jet near two active thunderstorm cells. The duration and spectral characteristics of the event are consistent with the terrestrial gamma ray flashes (TGFs) seen by instruments in low Earth orbit. A long-duration, complex +IC flash was taking place in the nearer cell at the same time, at a distance of ~10 km from the plane. The sferics that are probably associated with this flash extended over 54 ms and included several ULF pulses corresponding to charge moment changes of up to 30 C km, this value being in the lower half of the range of sferics associated with TGFs seen from space. Monte Carlo simulations of gamma ray propagation in the Earths atmosphere show that a TGF of normal intensity would, at this distance, have produced a gamma ray signal in ADELE of approximately the size and spectrum that was actually observed. We conclude that this was the first detection of a TGF from an aircraft. We show that because of the distance, ADELEs directional and spectral capabilities could not strongly constrain the source altitude of the TGF but that such constraints would be possible for TGFs detected at closer range.

The structure of X‐ray emissions from triggered lightning leaders measured by a pinhole‐type X‐ray camera

We investigate the structure of X-ray emissions from downward triggered lightning leaders using a pinhole-type X-ray camera (XCAM) located at the International Center for Lightning Research and Testing. This study builds on the work of Dwyer et al. (2011), which reported results from XCAM data from the 2010 summer lightning season. Additional details regarding the 2010 data are reported here. During the 2011 summer lightning season, the XCAM recorded 12 out of 17 leaders, 5 of which show downward leader propagation. Of those five leaders, one dart-stepped leader and two chaotic dart leaders are the focus of this paper. These three leaders displayed unique X-ray emission patterns: a chaotic dart leader displayed a diffuse structure (i.e., a wide lateral “spraying” distribution of X-rays), and a dart-stepped leader and a chaotic dart leader exhibited compact emission (i.e., a narrow lateral distribution of strong X-ray emission). These two distinct X-ray emission patterns (compact and diffuse) illustrate the variability of lightning leaders. Using Monte Carlo simulations, we show that the diffuse X-ray source must originate from a diffuse source of energetic electrons or possibly emission from several sources. The compact X-ray sources originate from compact electron sources, and the X-ray source region radius and electric charge contained within the X-ray source region were between 2 and 3 m and on the order of 10–4 C, respectively. For the leaders under investigation, the X-ray source region average currents were determined to be on the order of 102 A.

Compton scattering in terrestrial gamma-ray flashes detected with the Fermi gamma-ray burst monitor

Max-Planck-Institut fur extraterrestrische Physik, Giessenbachstrasse 1, 85748 Garching, Germany(Received 30 June 2014; published 20 August 2014)Terrestrial gamma-ray flashes (TGFs) are short intense flashes of gamma rays associated with lightningactivity in thunderstorms. Using Monte Carlo simulations of the relativistic runaway electron avalanche(RREA) process, theoretical predictions for the temporal and spectral evolution of TGFs are compared toobservations made with the Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM) on board the Fermi Gamma-ray SpaceTelescope. Assuming a single source altitude of 15 km, a comparison of simulations to data is performedfor a range of empirically chosen source electron variation time scales. The data exhibit a clear softeningwith increased source distance, in qualitativeagreement with theoretical predictions. The simulated spectrafollow this trend in the data, but tend to underestimate the observed hardness. Such a discrepancy mayimply that the basic RREA model is not sufficient. Alternatively, a TGF beam that is tilted with respect tothe zenith could produce an evolution with source distance that is compatiblewith the data. Based on theseresults, we propose that the source electron distributions of TGFs observed by GBM vary on time scales ofat least tens of microseconds, with an upper limit of ∼100 μs.

The spectroscopy of individual terrestrial gamma-ray flashes: Constraining the source properties

We report on the spectral analysis of individual Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flashes (TGFs) observed with the Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM). The large GBM TGF sample provides 46 events suitable for individual spectral analysis: sufficiently bright, localized by ground-based radio, and with the gamma rays reaching a detector unobstructed. These TGFs exhibit diverse spectral characteristics that are hidden when using summed analysis methods. We account for the low counts in individual TGFs by using Poisson likelihood, and we also consider instrumental effects. The data are fit with models obtained from Monte Carlo simulations of the large scale Relativistic Runaway Electron Avalanche (RREA) model, including propagation through the atmosphere. Source altitudes ranging from 11.6 to 20.2 km are simulated. Two beaming geometries were considered: In one, the photons retain the intrinsic distribution from scattering (narrow), and in the other, the photons are smeared into a wider beam (wide). Several TGFs are well fit only by narrow models, while others favor wide models. Large-scale RREA models can accommodate both narrow and wide beams, with narrow beams suggest large-scale RREA in organized electric fields while wide beams may imply converging or diverging electric fields. Wide beams are also consistent with acceleration in the electric fields of lightning leaders, but the TGFs that favor narrow beam models appear inconsistent with some lightning leader models.

An analytical approach for calculating energy spectra of relativistic runaway electron avalanches in air

Simplified equations describing the transport and energy spectrum of runaway electrons are derived from the basic kinematics of the continuity equations. These equations are useful in modeling the energy distribution of energetic electrons in strong electric fields, such as those found inside thunderstorms. Dwyer and Babich (2011) investigated the generation of low-energy electrons in relativistic runaway electron avalanches. The paper also developed simple analytical expressions to describe the detailed physics of Monte Carlo simulations of relativistic runaway electrons in air. In the current work, the energy spectra of the runaway electron population are studied in detail. Dependence of electron avalanche development on properties such as the avalanche length, radiation length, and the effective Moller scattering efficiency factor are discussed in detail. To describe the shapes of the electron energy spectra for a wide range of electric field strengths, the diffusion term responsible for random deviation of electron energy ionization loss from the mean value is added to the kinetic equation. We find that the diffusion in energy space helps maintain an exponential energy spectrum for electric fields that approach the runaway electron threshold field.

Pulse properties of terrestrial gamma-ray flashes detected by the Fermi Gamma-Ray Burst Monitor

The Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM) on board the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope has triggered on over 300 terrestrial gamma-ray flashes (TGFs) since its launch in June 2008. With 14 detectors, GBM collects on average ∼100 counts per triggered TGF, enabling unprecedented studies of the time profiles of TGFs. Here we present the first rigorous analysis of the temporal properties of a large sample of TGFs (278), including the distributions of the rise and fall times of the individual pulses and their durations. A variety of time profiles are observed with 19% of TGFs having multiple pulses separated in time and 31 clear cases of partially overlapping pulses. The effect of instrumental dead time and pulse pileup on the temporal properties are also presented. As the observed gamma ray pulse structure is representative of the electron flux at the source, TGF pulse parameters are critical to distinguish between relativistic feedback discharge and lightning leader models. We show that at least 67% of TGFs at satellite altitudes are significantly asymmetric. For the asymmetric pulses, the rise times are almost always shorter than the fall times. Those which are not are consistent with statistical fluctuations. The median rise time for asymmetric pulses is ∼3 times shorter than for symmetric pulses while their fall times are comparable. The asymmetric shapes observed are consistent with the relativistic feedback discharge model when Compton scattering of photons between the source and Fermi is included, and instrumental effects are taken into account.

Terrestrial gamma ray flashes due to particle acceleration in tropical storm systems

Terrestrial gamma ray flashes (TGFs) are submillisecond flashes of energetic radiation that are believed to emanate from intracloud lightning inside thunderstorms. This emission can be detected hundreds of kilometers from the source by space-based observatories such as the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope (Fermi). The location of the TGF-producing storms can be determined using very low frequency (VLF) radio measurements made simultaneously with the Fermi detection, allowing additional insight into the mechanisms which produce these phenomena. In this paper, we report 37 TGFs originating from tropical storm systems for the first time. Previous studies to gain insight into how tropical cyclones formed and how destructive they can be include the investigation of lightning flash rates and their dependence on storm evolution. We find TGFs to emanate from a broad range of distances from the storm centers. In hurricanes and severe tropical cyclones, the TGFs are observed to occur predominately from the outer rainbands. A majority of our sample also show TGFs occurring during the strengthening phase of the encompassing storm system. These results verify that TGF production closely follows when and where lightning predominately occurs in cyclones. The intrinsic characteristics of these TGFs were not found to differ from other TGFs reported in larger samples. We also find that some TGF-producing storm cells in tropical storm systems far removed from land have a low number of WWLLN sferics. Although not unique to tropical cyclones, this TGF/sferic ratio may imply a high efficiency for the lightning in these storms to generate TGFs.

The effect of direct electron‐positron pair production on relativistic feedback rates

Runaway electron avalanches developing in thunderclouds in high electric field become self-sustaining due to relativistic feedback via the production of backward propagating positrons and backscattered X-rays. To date, only positrons created from pair production by gamma rays interacting with the air have been considered. In contrast, direct electron-positron pair production, also known as “trident process,” occurs from the interaction of energetic runaway electrons with atomic nuclei, and so it does not require the generation of a gamma ray mediator. The positrons produced in this process contribute to relativistic feedback and become especially important when the feedback factor value approaches unity. Then the steady state flux of runaway electrons increases significantly. In certain cases, when the strong electrostatic field forms in a narrow area, the direct positrons become one of processes dominating relativistic feedback. Calculations of the direct positron production contribution to relativistic feedback are presented for different electric field configurations.

Magnetic field modification to the relativistic runaway electron avalanche length

This paper explores the impact of the geomagnetic field on the relativistic runaway electron avalanche length, λe−. Coleman and Dwyer [2006] developed an analytical fit to Monte Carlo simulations using the Runaway Electron Avalanche Model (REAM). In this work, we repeat this process but with the addition of the geomagnetic field in the range of [100,900]/nμT, where n is the ratio of the density of air at altitude to the sea level density. As the ambient electric field approaches the runaway threshold field (Eth≈ 284 kV/m sea level equivalent), it is shown that the magnetic field has an impact on the orientation of the resulting electron beam. The runaway electrons initially follow the vertically oriented electric field but then are deflected in the v×B direction, and as such the electrons experience more dynamic friction due to the increase in path length. This will be shown to result in a difference in the avalanche length from the case where B = 0. It will also be shown that the average energy of the runaway electrons will decrease while the required electric field to produce runaway electrons increases. This study is also important in understanding the physics of Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flashes (TGFs). Not only will this work impact relativistic feedback rates determined from simulations, it may also be useful in studying spectroscopy of TGFs observed from balloon and aircraft measurements. These models may also be used in determining beaming properties of TGFs originating in the tropical regions seen from orbiting spacecraft.