arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to E. Svechnikova.
We present and discuss Transient Luminous Events in the lower atmosphere, observed during large disturbances of the near-surface electric fields (NSEF) and coinciding with large enhancements of the particle fluxes.
Relativistic runaway electron avalanches (RREA) accelerated by thunderstorm large-scale electric fields are one of the sources of atmospheric gamma radiation. In strong electric fields, RREAs can multiply by the relativistic feedback. Infinite relativistic feedback makes avalanches self-sustainable and hypothetically can cause a terrestrial gamma-ray flash (TGF). This paper introduces a kinetic approach to study the relativistic feedback caused by positrons since positron feedback dominates for the directly observed electric field strengths. With this approach, the criterion for infinite positron feedback within thunderstorms is derived. Discovered criterion allows obtaining the thunderstorm electric field parameters required for infinite positron feedback for any altitude. The possibility of derived thunderstorm conditions is discussed.
Relativistic runaway electron avalanches (RREAs) are generally accepted as a source of thunderstorms gamma-ray radiation. Avalanches can multiply in the electric field via the relativistic feedback mechanism based on processes with gamma-rays and positrons. This paper shows that a non-uniform electric field geometry can lead to the new RREAs multiplication mechanism - "reactor feedback", due to the exchange of high-energy particles between different accelerating regions within a thundercloud. A new method for the numerical simulation of RREA dynamics within heterogeneous electric field structures is proposed. The developed analytical description and the numerical simulation enables us to derive necessary conditions for TGF occurrence in the system with the reactor feedback Observable properties of TGFs influenced by the proposed mechanism are discussed.
The connection between thunderstorms and relativistic runaway electron avalanches is an important topic that has attracted the attention of many researchers. Among other things, there are a lot of various simulations of the dynamics of electron avalanches. This article was written mostly in response to the article "The critical avalanche of runaway electrons" by Evgeny Oreshkin et al, which shows rather large numbers for an estimate of the number of runaway electrons, but it also contains the results of our own simulation and comparison with other papers.