Observations of the Origin of Downward Terrestrial Gamma-Ray Flashes

J. W. Belz; P. R. Krehbiel; J. Remington; M. A. Stanley; R. U. Abbasi; R. LeVon; W. Rison; D. Rodeheffer; T. Abu-Zayyad; M. Allen; E. Barcikowski; D. R. Bergman; S. A. Blake; M. Byrne; R. Cady; B. G. Cheon; M. Chikawa; A. di Matteo; T. Fujii; K. Fujita; R. Fujiwara; M. Fukushima; G. Furlich; W. Hanlon; M. Hayashi; Y. Hayashi; N. Hayashida; K. Hibino; K. Honda; D. Ikeda; T. Inadomi; N. Inoue; T. Ishii; H. Ito; D. Ivanov; H. Iwakura; H. M. Jeong; S. Jeong; C. C.H. Jui; K. Kadota; F. Kakimoto; O. Kalashev; K. Kasahara; S. Kasami; H. Kawai; S. Kawakami; K. Kawata; E. Kido; H. B. Kim; J. H. Kim; J. H. Kim; V. Kuzmin†; M. Kuznetsov; Y. J. Kwon; K. H. Lee; B. Lubsandorzhiev; J. P. Lundquist; K. Machida; H. Matsumiya; J. N. Matthews; T. Matuyama; R. Mayta; M. Minamino; K. Mukai; I. Myers; S. Nagataki; K. Nakai; R. Nakamura; T. Nakamura; Y. Nakamura; T. Nonaka; H. Oda; S. Ogio; M. Ohnishi; H. Ohoka; Y. Oku; T. Okuda; Y. Omura; M. Ono; A. Oshima; S. Ozawa; I. H. Park; M. Potts; M. S. Pshirkov; D. C. Rodriguez; G. Rubtsov; D. Ryu; H. Sagawa; R. Sahara; K. Saito; Y. Saito; N. Sakaki; T. Sako; N. Sakurai; K. Sano; T. Seki; K. Sekino; F. Shibata; T. Shibata; H. Shimodaira; B. K. Shin; H. S. Shin; J. D. Smith; P. Sokolsky; N. Sone; B. T. Stokes; T. A. Stroman; Y. Takagi; Y. Takahashi; M. Takeda; R. Takeishi; A. Taketa; M. Takita; Y. Tameda; K. Tanaka; M. Tanaka; Y. Tanoue; S. B. Thomas; G. B. Thomson; P. Tinyakov; I. Tkachev; H. Tokuno; T. Tomida; S. Troitsky; Y. Tsunesada; Y. Uchihori; S. Udo; T. Uehama; F. Urban; M. Wallace; T. Wong; M. Yamamoto; H. Yamaoka; K. Yamazaki; K. Yashiro; M. Yosei; H. Yoshii; Y. Zhezher; Z. Zundel

doi:10.1029/2019JD031940

Observations of the Origin of Downward Terrestrial Gamma-Ray Flashes

J. W. Belz, P. R. Krehbiel, J. Remington, M. A. Stanley, R. U. Abbasi, R. LeVon, W. Rison, D. Rodeheffer, T. Abu-Zayyad, M. Allen, E. Barcikowski, D. R. Bergman, S. A. Blake, M. Byrne, R. Cady, B. G. Cheon, M. Chikawa, A. di Matteo, T. Fujii, K. FujitaR. Fujiwara, M. Fukushima, G. Furlich, W. Hanlon, M. Hayashi, Y. Hayashi, N. Hayashida, K. Hibino, K. Honda, D. Ikeda, T. Inadomi, N. Inoue, T. Ishii, H. Ito, D. Ivanov, H. Iwakura, H. M. Jeong, S. Jeong, C. C.H. Jui, K. Kadota, F. Kakimoto, O. Kalashev, K. Kasahara, S. Kasami, H. Kawai, S. Kawakami, K. Kawata, E. Kido, H. B. Kim, J. H. Kim, J. H. Kim, V. Kuzmin†, M. Kuznetsov, Y. J. Kwon, K. H. Lee, B. Lubsandorzhiev, J. P. Lundquist, K. Machida, H. Matsumiya, J. N. Matthews, T. Matuyama, R. Mayta, M. Minamino, K. Mukai, I. Myers, S. Nagataki, K. Nakai, R. Nakamura, T. Nakamura, Y. Nakamura, T. Nonaka, H. Oda, S. Ogio, M. Ohnishi, H. Ohoka, Y. Oku, T. Okuda, Y. Omura, M. Ono, A. Oshima, S. Ozawa, I. H. Park, M. Potts, M. S. Pshirkov, D. C. Rodriguez, G. Rubtsov, D. Ryu, H. Sagawa, R. Sahara, K. Saito, Y. Saito, N. Sakaki, T. Sako, N. Sakurai, K. Sano, T. Seki, K. Sekino, F. Shibata, T. Shibata, H. Shimodaira, B. K. Shin, H. S. Shin, J. D. Smith, P. Sokolsky, N. Sone, B. T. Stokes, T. A. Stroman, Y. Takagi, Y. Takahashi, M. Takeda, R. Takeishi, A. Taketa, M. Takita, Y. Tameda, K. Tanaka, M. Tanaka, Y. Tanoue, S. B. Thomas, G. B. Thomson, P. Tinyakov, I. Tkachev, H. Tokuno, T. Tomida, S. Troitsky, Y. Tsunesada, Y. Uchihori, S. Udo, T. Uehama, F. Urban, M. Wallace, T. Wong, M. Yamamoto, H. Yamaoka, K. Yamazaki, K. Yashiro, M. Yosei, H. Yoshii, Y. Zhezher, Z. Zundel

Department of Physics

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

28 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

In this paper we report the first close, high-resolution observations of downward-directed terrestrial gamma-ray flashes (TGFs) detected by the large-area Telescope Array cosmic ray observatory, obtained in conjunction with broadband VHF interferometer and fast electric field change measurements of the parent discharge. The results show that the TGFs occur during strong initial breakdown pulses (IBPs) in the first few milliseconds of negative cloud-to-ground and low-altitude intracloud flashes and that the IBPs are produced by a newly identified streamer-based discharge process called fast negative breakdown. The observations indicate the relativistic runaway electron avalanches (RREAs) responsible for producing the TGFs are initiated by embedded spark-like transient conducting events (TCEs) within the fast streamer system and potentially also by individual fast streamers themselves. The TCEs are inferred to be the cause of impulsive sub-pulses that are characteristic features of classic IBP sferics. Additional development of the avalanches would be facilitated by the enhanced electric field ahead of the advancing front of the fast negative breakdown. In addition to showing the nature of IBPs and their enigmatic sub-pulses, the observations also provide a possible explanation for the unsolved question of how the streamer to leader transition occurs during the initial negative breakdown, namely, as a result of strong currents flowing in the final stage of successive IBPs, extending backward through both the IBP itself and the negative streamer breakdown preceding the IBP.

Original language	English
Article number	e2019JD031940
Journal	Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres
Volume	125
Issue number	23
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JD031940
Publication status	Published - 2020 Dec 16

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The lightning instrumentation, operation, and analyses of this study have been supported by NSF grants AGS‐1205727, AGS‐1613260, AGS‐1720600, and AGS‐1844306. The Telescope Array experiment is supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science through Grants‐in‐Aids for Scientific Research on Specially Promoted Research (15H05693) and for Scientific Research (S) (15H05741) and the Inter‐University Research Program of the Institute for Cosmic Ray Research; by the U.S. National Science Foundation awards PHY‐0307098, PHY‐0601915, PHY‐0649681, PHY‐0703893, PHY‐0758342, PHY‐0848320, PHY‐1069280, PHY‐1069286, PHY‐1404495, PHY‐1404502, and PHY‐1607727; by the National Research Foundation of Korea (2015R1A2A1A01006870, 2015R1A2A1A15055344, 2016R1A5A1013277, 2007‐0093860, 2016R1A2B4014967, and 2017K1A4A3015188); by the Russian Academy of Sciences, RFBR grant 16‐02‐00962a (INR), IISN project No. 4.4502.13, and Belgian Science Policy under IUAP VII/37 (ULB). The foundations of Dr. Ezekiel R. and Edna Wattis Dumke, Willard L. Eccles, and George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles all helped with generous donations. The State of Utah supported the project through its Economic Development Board and the University of Utah through the Office of the Vice President for Research. The experimental site became available through the cooperation of the Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration (SITLA), U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and the U.S. Air Force. We appreciate the assistance of the State of Utah and Fillmore offices of the BLM in crafting the Plan of Development for the site. We also wish to thank the people and the officials of Millard County, Utah for their steadfast and warm support. We gratefully acknowledge the contributions from the technical staffs of our home institutions. An allocation of computer time from the Center for High Performance Computing at the University of Utah is gratefully acknowledged. We thank Ryan Said and W. A. Brooks of Vaisala Inc. for providing high‐quality NLDN data lightning discharges over and around the TASD under their academic research use policy as well as several anonymous reviewers for their requests and comments, the responses to which significantly improved the paper.

Funding Information:
The lightning instrumentation, operation, and analyses of this study have been supported by NSF grants AGS-1205727, AGS-1613260, AGS-1720600, and AGS-1844306. The Telescope Array experiment is supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science through Grants-in-Aids for Scientific Research on Specially Promoted Research (15H05693) and for Scientific Research (S) (15H05741) and the Inter-University Research Program of the Institute for Cosmic Ray Research; by the U.S. National Science Foundation awards PHY-0307098, PHY-0601915, PHY-0649681, PHY-0703893, PHY-0758342, PHY-0848320, PHY-1069280, PHY-1069286, PHY-1404495, PHY-1404502, and PHY-1607727; by the National Research Foundation of Korea (2015R1A2A1A01006870, 2015R1A2A1A15055344, 2016R1A5A1013277, 2007-0093860, 2016R1A2B4014967, and 2017K1A4A3015188); by the Russian Academy of Sciences, RFBR grant 16-02-00962a (INR), IISN project No. 4.4502.13, and Belgian Science Policy under IUAP VII/37 (ULB). The foundations of Dr. Ezekiel R. and Edna Wattis Dumke, Willard L. Eccles, and George S. and Dolores Dor? Eccles all helped with generous donations. The State of Utah supported the project through its Economic Development Board and the University of Utah through the Office of the Vice President for Research. The experimental site became available through the cooperation of the Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration (SITLA), U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and the U.S. Air Force. We appreciate the assistance of the State of Utah and Fillmore offices of the BLM in crafting the Plan of Development for the site. We also wish to thank the people and the officials of Millard County, Utah for their steadfast and warm support. We gratefully acknowledge the contributions from the technical staffs of our home institutions. An allocation of computer time from the Center for High Performance Computing at the University of Utah is gratefully acknowledged. We thank Ryan Said and W. A. Brooks of Vaisala Inc.?for providing high-quality NLDN data lightning discharges over and around the TASD under their academic research use policy as well as several anonymous reviewers for their requests and comments, the responses to which significantly improved the paper.

Publisher Copyright:
©2020. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved.

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

Geophysics
Atmospheric Science
Earth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous)
Space and Planetary Science

Access to Document

10.1029/2019JD031940

Cite this

Belz, J. W., Krehbiel, P. R., Remington, J., Stanley, M. A., Abbasi, R. U., LeVon, R., Rison, W., Rodeheffer, D., Abu-Zayyad, T., Allen, M., Barcikowski, E., Bergman, D. R., Blake, S. A., Byrne, M., Cady, R., Cheon, B. G., Chikawa, M., di Matteo, A., Fujii, T., ... Zundel, Z. (2020). Observations of the Origin of Downward Terrestrial Gamma-Ray Flashes. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 125(23), [e2019JD031940]. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JD031940

@article{c1f724d8c1904e33ac02ec8c0360ebd5,

title = "Observations of the Origin of Downward Terrestrial Gamma-Ray Flashes",

abstract = "In this paper we report the first close, high-resolution observations of downward-directed terrestrial gamma-ray flashes (TGFs) detected by the large-area Telescope Array cosmic ray observatory, obtained in conjunction with broadband VHF interferometer and fast electric field change measurements of the parent discharge. The results show that the TGFs occur during strong initial breakdown pulses (IBPs) in the first few milliseconds of negative cloud-to-ground and low-altitude intracloud flashes and that the IBPs are produced by a newly identified streamer-based discharge process called fast negative breakdown. The observations indicate the relativistic runaway electron avalanches (RREAs) responsible for producing the TGFs are initiated by embedded spark-like transient conducting events (TCEs) within the fast streamer system and potentially also by individual fast streamers themselves. The TCEs are inferred to be the cause of impulsive sub-pulses that are characteristic features of classic IBP sferics. Additional development of the avalanches would be facilitated by the enhanced electric field ahead of the advancing front of the fast negative breakdown. In addition to showing the nature of IBPs and their enigmatic sub-pulses, the observations also provide a possible explanation for the unsolved question of how the streamer to leader transition occurs during the initial negative breakdown, namely, as a result of strong currents flowing in the final stage of successive IBPs, extending backward through both the IBP itself and the negative streamer breakdown preceding the IBP.",

author = "Belz, {J. W.} and Krehbiel, {P. R.} and J. Remington and Stanley, {M. A.} and Abbasi, {R. U.} and R. LeVon and W. Rison and D. Rodeheffer and T. Abu-Zayyad and M. Allen and E. Barcikowski and Bergman, {D. R.} and Blake, {S. A.} and M. Byrne and R. Cady and Cheon, {B. G.} and M. Chikawa and {di Matteo}, A. and T. Fujii and K. Fujita and R. Fujiwara and M. Fukushima and G. Furlich and W. Hanlon and M. Hayashi and Y. Hayashi and N. Hayashida and K. Hibino and K. Honda and D. Ikeda and T. Inadomi and N. Inoue and T. Ishii and H. Ito and D. Ivanov and H. Iwakura and Jeong, {H. M.} and S. Jeong and Jui, {C. C.H.} and K. Kadota and F. Kakimoto and O. Kalashev and K. Kasahara and S. Kasami and H. Kawai and S. Kawakami and K. Kawata and E. Kido and Kim, {H. B.} and Kim, {J. H.} and Kim, {J. H.} and V. Kuzmin† and M. Kuznetsov and Kwon, {Y. J.} and Lee, {K. H.} and B. Lubsandorzhiev and Lundquist, {J. P.} and K. Machida and H. Matsumiya and Matthews, {J. N.} and T. Matuyama and R. Mayta and M. Minamino and K. Mukai and I. Myers and S. Nagataki and K. Nakai and R. Nakamura and T. Nakamura and Y. Nakamura and T. Nonaka and H. Oda and S. Ogio and M. Ohnishi and H. Ohoka and Y. Oku and T. Okuda and Y. Omura and M. Ono and A. Oshima and S. Ozawa and Park, {I. H.} and M. Potts and Pshirkov, {M. S.} and Rodriguez, {D. C.} and G. Rubtsov and D. Ryu and H. Sagawa and R. Sahara and K. Saito and Y. Saito and N. Sakaki and T. Sako and N. Sakurai and K. Sano and T. Seki and K. Sekino and F. Shibata and T. Shibata and H. Shimodaira and Shin, {B. K.} and Shin, {H. S.} and Smith, {J. D.} and P. Sokolsky and N. Sone and Stokes, {B. T.} and Stroman, {T. A.} and Y. Takagi and Y. Takahashi and M. Takeda and R. Takeishi and A. Taketa and M. Takita and Y. Tameda and K. Tanaka and M. Tanaka and Y. Tanoue and Thomas, {S. B.} and Thomson, {G. B.} and P. Tinyakov and I. Tkachev and H. Tokuno and T. Tomida and S. Troitsky and Y. Tsunesada and Y. Uchihori and S. Udo and T. Uehama and F. Urban and M. Wallace and T. Wong and M. Yamamoto and H. Yamaoka and K. Yamazaki and K. Yashiro and M. Yosei and H. Yoshii and Y. Zhezher and Z. Zundel",

note = "Funding Information: The lightning instrumentation, operation, and analyses of this study have been supported by NSF grants AGS‐1205727, AGS‐1613260, AGS‐1720600, and AGS‐1844306. The Telescope Array experiment is supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science through Grants‐in‐Aids for Scientific Research on Specially Promoted Research (15H05693) and for Scientific Research (S) (15H05741) and the Inter‐University Research Program of the Institute for Cosmic Ray Research; by the U.S. National Science Foundation awards PHY‐0307098, PHY‐0601915, PHY‐0649681, PHY‐0703893, PHY‐0758342, PHY‐0848320, PHY‐1069280, PHY‐1069286, PHY‐1404495, PHY‐1404502, and PHY‐1607727; by the National Research Foundation of Korea (2015R1A2A1A01006870, 2015R1A2A1A15055344, 2016R1A5A1013277, 2007‐0093860, 2016R1A2B4014967, and 2017K1A4A3015188); by the Russian Academy of Sciences, RFBR grant 16‐02‐00962a (INR), IISN project No. 4.4502.13, and Belgian Science Policy under IUAP VII/37 (ULB). The foundations of Dr. Ezekiel R. and Edna Wattis Dumke, Willard L. Eccles, and George S. and Dolores Dor{\'e} Eccles all helped with generous donations. The State of Utah supported the project through its Economic Development Board and the University of Utah through the Office of the Vice President for Research. The experimental site became available through the cooperation of the Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration (SITLA), U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and the U.S. Air Force. We appreciate the assistance of the State of Utah and Fillmore offices of the BLM in crafting the Plan of Development for the site. We also wish to thank the people and the officials of Millard County, Utah for their steadfast and warm support. We gratefully acknowledge the contributions from the technical staffs of our home institutions. An allocation of computer time from the Center for High Performance Computing at the University of Utah is gratefully acknowledged. We thank Ryan Said and W. A. Brooks of Vaisala Inc. for providing high‐quality NLDN data lightning discharges over and around the TASD under their academic research use policy as well as several anonymous reviewers for their requests and comments, the responses to which significantly improved the paper. Funding Information: The lightning instrumentation, operation, and analyses of this study have been supported by NSF grants AGS-1205727, AGS-1613260, AGS-1720600, and AGS-1844306. The Telescope Array experiment is supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science through Grants-in-Aids for Scientific Research on Specially Promoted Research (15H05693) and for Scientific Research (S) (15H05741) and the Inter-University Research Program of the Institute for Cosmic Ray Research; by the U.S. National Science Foundation awards PHY-0307098, PHY-0601915, PHY-0649681, PHY-0703893, PHY-0758342, PHY-0848320, PHY-1069280, PHY-1069286, PHY-1404495, PHY-1404502, and PHY-1607727; by the National Research Foundation of Korea (2015R1A2A1A01006870, 2015R1A2A1A15055344, 2016R1A5A1013277, 2007-0093860, 2016R1A2B4014967, and 2017K1A4A3015188); by the Russian Academy of Sciences, RFBR grant 16-02-00962a (INR), IISN project No. 4.4502.13, and Belgian Science Policy under IUAP VII/37 (ULB). The foundations of Dr. Ezekiel R. and Edna Wattis Dumke, Willard L. Eccles, and George S. and Dolores Dor? Eccles all helped with generous donations. The State of Utah supported the project through its Economic Development Board and the University of Utah through the Office of the Vice President for Research. The experimental site became available through the cooperation of the Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration (SITLA), U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and the U.S. Air Force. We appreciate the assistance of the State of Utah and Fillmore offices of the BLM in crafting the Plan of Development for the site. We also wish to thank the people and the officials of Millard County, Utah for their steadfast and warm support. We gratefully acknowledge the contributions from the technical staffs of our home institutions. An allocation of computer time from the Center for High Performance Computing at the University of Utah is gratefully acknowledged. We thank Ryan Said and W. A. Brooks of Vaisala Inc.?for providing high-quality NLDN data lightning discharges over and around the TASD under their academic research use policy as well as several anonymous reviewers for their requests and comments, the responses to which significantly improved the paper. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright}2020. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved.",

year = "2020",

month = dec,

day = "16",

doi = "10.1029/2019JD031940",

language = "English",

volume = "125",

journal = "Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres",

issn = "2169-897X",

number = "23",

}

Belz, JW, Krehbiel, PR, Remington, J, Stanley, MA, Abbasi, RU, LeVon, R, Rison, W, Rodeheffer, D, Abu-Zayyad, T, Allen, M, Barcikowski, E, Bergman, DR, Blake, SA, Byrne, M, Cady, R, Cheon, BG, Chikawa, M, di Matteo, A, Fujii, T, Fujita, K, Fujiwara, R, Fukushima, M, Furlich, G, Hanlon, W, Hayashi, M, Hayashi, Y, Hayashida, N, Hibino, K, Honda, K, Ikeda, D, Inadomi, T, Inoue, N, Ishii, T, Ito, H, Ivanov, D, Iwakura, H, Jeong, HM, Jeong, S, Jui, CCH, Kadota, K, Kakimoto, F, Kalashev, O, Kasahara, K, Kasami, S, Kawai, H, Kawakami, S, Kawata, K, Kido, E, Kim, HB, Kim, JH, Kim, JH, Kuzmin†, V, Kuznetsov, M, Kwon, YJ, Lee, KH, Lubsandorzhiev, B, Lundquist, JP, Machida, K, Matsumiya, H, Matthews, JN, Matuyama, T, Mayta, R, Minamino, M, Mukai, K, Myers, I, Nagataki, S, Nakai, K, Nakamura, R, Nakamura, T, Nakamura, Y, Nonaka, T, Oda, H, Ogio, S, Ohnishi, M, Ohoka, H, Oku, Y, Okuda, T, Omura, Y, Ono, M, Oshima, A, Ozawa, S, Park, IH, Potts, M, Pshirkov, MS, Rodriguez, DC, Rubtsov, G, Ryu, D, Sagawa, H, Sahara, R, Saito, K, Saito, Y, Sakaki, N, Sako, T, Sakurai, N, Sano, K, Seki, T, Sekino, K, Shibata, F, Shibata, T, Shimodaira, H, Shin, BK, Shin, HS, Smith, JD, Sokolsky, P, Sone, N, Stokes, BT, Stroman, TA, Takagi, Y, Takahashi, Y, Takeda, M, Takeishi, R, Taketa, A, Takita, M, Tameda, Y, Tanaka, K, Tanaka, M, Tanoue, Y, Thomas, SB, Thomson, GB, Tinyakov, P, Tkachev, I, Tokuno, H, Tomida, T, Troitsky, S, Tsunesada, Y, Uchihori, Y, Udo, S, Uehama, T, Urban, F, Wallace, M, Wong, T, Yamamoto, M, Yamaoka, H, Yamazaki, K, Yashiro, K, Yosei, M, Yoshii, H, Zhezher, Y & Zundel, Z 2020, 'Observations of the Origin of Downward Terrestrial Gamma-Ray Flashes', Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, vol. 125, no. 23, e2019JD031940. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JD031940

TY - JOUR

T1 - Observations of the Origin of Downward Terrestrial Gamma-Ray Flashes

AU - Belz, J. W.

AU - Krehbiel, P. R.

AU - Remington, J.

AU - Stanley, M. A.

AU - Abbasi, R. U.

AU - LeVon, R.

AU - Rison, W.

AU - Rodeheffer, D.

AU - Abu-Zayyad, T.

AU - Allen, M.

AU - Barcikowski, E.

AU - Bergman, D. R.

AU - Blake, S. A.

AU - Byrne, M.

AU - Cady, R.

AU - Cheon, B. G.

AU - Chikawa, M.

AU - di Matteo, A.

AU - Fujii, T.

AU - Fujita, K.

AU - Fujiwara, R.

AU - Fukushima, M.

AU - Furlich, G.

AU - Hanlon, W.

AU - Hayashi, M.

AU - Hayashi, Y.

AU - Hayashida, N.

AU - Hibino, K.

AU - Honda, K.

AU - Ikeda, D.

AU - Inadomi, T.

AU - Inoue, N.

AU - Ishii, T.

AU - Ito, H.

AU - Ivanov, D.

AU - Iwakura, H.

AU - Jeong, H. M.

AU - Jeong, S.

AU - Jui, C. C.H.

AU - Kadota, K.

AU - Kakimoto, F.

AU - Kalashev, O.

AU - Kasahara, K.

AU - Kasami, S.

AU - Kawai, H.

AU - Kawakami, S.

AU - Kawata, K.

AU - Kido, E.

AU - Kim, H. B.

AU - Kim, J. H.

AU - Kuzmin†, V.

AU - Kuznetsov, M.

AU - Kwon, Y. J.

AU - Lee, K. H.

AU - Lubsandorzhiev, B.

AU - Lundquist, J. P.

AU - Machida, K.

AU - Matsumiya, H.

AU - Matthews, J. N.

AU - Matuyama, T.

AU - Mayta, R.

AU - Minamino, M.

AU - Mukai, K.

AU - Myers, I.

AU - Nagataki, S.

AU - Nakai, K.

AU - Nakamura, R.

AU - Nakamura, T.

AU - Nakamura, Y.

AU - Nonaka, T.

AU - Oda, H.

AU - Ogio, S.

AU - Ohnishi, M.

AU - Ohoka, H.

AU - Oku, Y.

AU - Okuda, T.

AU - Omura, Y.

AU - Ono, M.

AU - Oshima, A.

AU - Ozawa, S.

AU - Park, I. H.

AU - Potts, M.

AU - Pshirkov, M. S.

AU - Rodriguez, D. C.

AU - Rubtsov, G.

AU - Ryu, D.

AU - Sagawa, H.

AU - Sahara, R.

AU - Saito, K.

AU - Saito, Y.

AU - Sakaki, N.

AU - Sako, T.

AU - Sakurai, N.

AU - Sano, K.

AU - Seki, T.

AU - Sekino, K.

AU - Shibata, F.

AU - Shibata, T.

AU - Shimodaira, H.

AU - Shin, B. K.

AU - Shin, H. S.

AU - Smith, J. D.

AU - Sokolsky, P.

AU - Sone, N.

AU - Stokes, B. T.

AU - Stroman, T. A.

AU - Takagi, Y.

AU - Takahashi, Y.

AU - Takeda, M.

AU - Takeishi, R.

AU - Taketa, A.

AU - Takita, M.

AU - Tameda, Y.

AU - Tanaka, K.

AU - Tanaka, M.

AU - Tanoue, Y.

AU - Thomas, S. B.

AU - Thomson, G. B.

AU - Tinyakov, P.

AU - Tkachev, I.

AU - Tokuno, H.

AU - Tomida, T.

AU - Troitsky, S.

AU - Tsunesada, Y.

AU - Uchihori, Y.

AU - Udo, S.

AU - Uehama, T.

AU - Urban, F.

AU - Wallace, M.

AU - Wong, T.

AU - Yamamoto, M.

AU - Yamaoka, H.

AU - Yamazaki, K.

AU - Yashiro, K.

AU - Yosei, M.

AU - Yoshii, H.

AU - Zhezher, Y.

AU - Zundel, Z.

N1 - Funding Information: The lightning instrumentation, operation, and analyses of this study have been supported by NSF grants AGS‐1205727, AGS‐1613260, AGS‐1720600, and AGS‐1844306. The Telescope Array experiment is supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science through Grants‐in‐Aids for Scientific Research on Specially Promoted Research (15H05693) and for Scientific Research (S) (15H05741) and the Inter‐University Research Program of the Institute for Cosmic Ray Research; by the U.S. National Science Foundation awards PHY‐0307098, PHY‐0601915, PHY‐0649681, PHY‐0703893, PHY‐0758342, PHY‐0848320, PHY‐1069280, PHY‐1069286, PHY‐1404495, PHY‐1404502, and PHY‐1607727; by the National Research Foundation of Korea (2015R1A2A1A01006870, 2015R1A2A1A15055344, 2016R1A5A1013277, 2007‐0093860, 2016R1A2B4014967, and 2017K1A4A3015188); by the Russian Academy of Sciences, RFBR grant 16‐02‐00962a (INR), IISN project No. 4.4502.13, and Belgian Science Policy under IUAP VII/37 (ULB). The foundations of Dr. Ezekiel R. and Edna Wattis Dumke, Willard L. Eccles, and George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles all helped with generous donations. The State of Utah supported the project through its Economic Development Board and the University of Utah through the Office of the Vice President for Research. The experimental site became available through the cooperation of the Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration (SITLA), U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and the U.S. Air Force. We appreciate the assistance of the State of Utah and Fillmore offices of the BLM in crafting the Plan of Development for the site. We also wish to thank the people and the officials of Millard County, Utah for their steadfast and warm support. We gratefully acknowledge the contributions from the technical staffs of our home institutions. An allocation of computer time from the Center for High Performance Computing at the University of Utah is gratefully acknowledged. We thank Ryan Said and W. A. Brooks of Vaisala Inc. for providing high‐quality NLDN data lightning discharges over and around the TASD under their academic research use policy as well as several anonymous reviewers for their requests and comments, the responses to which significantly improved the paper. Funding Information: The lightning instrumentation, operation, and analyses of this study have been supported by NSF grants AGS-1205727, AGS-1613260, AGS-1720600, and AGS-1844306. The Telescope Array experiment is supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science through Grants-in-Aids for Scientific Research on Specially Promoted Research (15H05693) and for Scientific Research (S) (15H05741) and the Inter-University Research Program of the Institute for Cosmic Ray Research; by the U.S. National Science Foundation awards PHY-0307098, PHY-0601915, PHY-0649681, PHY-0703893, PHY-0758342, PHY-0848320, PHY-1069280, PHY-1069286, PHY-1404495, PHY-1404502, and PHY-1607727; by the National Research Foundation of Korea (2015R1A2A1A01006870, 2015R1A2A1A15055344, 2016R1A5A1013277, 2007-0093860, 2016R1A2B4014967, and 2017K1A4A3015188); by the Russian Academy of Sciences, RFBR grant 16-02-00962a (INR), IISN project No. 4.4502.13, and Belgian Science Policy under IUAP VII/37 (ULB). The foundations of Dr. Ezekiel R. and Edna Wattis Dumke, Willard L. Eccles, and George S. and Dolores Dor? Eccles all helped with generous donations. The State of Utah supported the project through its Economic Development Board and the University of Utah through the Office of the Vice President for Research. The experimental site became available through the cooperation of the Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration (SITLA), U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and the U.S. Air Force. We appreciate the assistance of the State of Utah and Fillmore offices of the BLM in crafting the Plan of Development for the site. We also wish to thank the people and the officials of Millard County, Utah for their steadfast and warm support. We gratefully acknowledge the contributions from the technical staffs of our home institutions. An allocation of computer time from the Center for High Performance Computing at the University of Utah is gratefully acknowledged. We thank Ryan Said and W. A. Brooks of Vaisala Inc.?for providing high-quality NLDN data lightning discharges over and around the TASD under their academic research use policy as well as several anonymous reviewers for their requests and comments, the responses to which significantly improved the paper. Publisher Copyright: ©2020. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved.

PY - 2020/12/16

Y1 - 2020/12/16

N2 - In this paper we report the first close, high-resolution observations of downward-directed terrestrial gamma-ray flashes (TGFs) detected by the large-area Telescope Array cosmic ray observatory, obtained in conjunction with broadband VHF interferometer and fast electric field change measurements of the parent discharge. The results show that the TGFs occur during strong initial breakdown pulses (IBPs) in the first few milliseconds of negative cloud-to-ground and low-altitude intracloud flashes and that the IBPs are produced by a newly identified streamer-based discharge process called fast negative breakdown. The observations indicate the relativistic runaway electron avalanches (RREAs) responsible for producing the TGFs are initiated by embedded spark-like transient conducting events (TCEs) within the fast streamer system and potentially also by individual fast streamers themselves. The TCEs are inferred to be the cause of impulsive sub-pulses that are characteristic features of classic IBP sferics. Additional development of the avalanches would be facilitated by the enhanced electric field ahead of the advancing front of the fast negative breakdown. In addition to showing the nature of IBPs and their enigmatic sub-pulses, the observations also provide a possible explanation for the unsolved question of how the streamer to leader transition occurs during the initial negative breakdown, namely, as a result of strong currents flowing in the final stage of successive IBPs, extending backward through both the IBP itself and the negative streamer breakdown preceding the IBP.

AB - In this paper we report the first close, high-resolution observations of downward-directed terrestrial gamma-ray flashes (TGFs) detected by the large-area Telescope Array cosmic ray observatory, obtained in conjunction with broadband VHF interferometer and fast electric field change measurements of the parent discharge. The results show that the TGFs occur during strong initial breakdown pulses (IBPs) in the first few milliseconds of negative cloud-to-ground and low-altitude intracloud flashes and that the IBPs are produced by a newly identified streamer-based discharge process called fast negative breakdown. The observations indicate the relativistic runaway electron avalanches (RREAs) responsible for producing the TGFs are initiated by embedded spark-like transient conducting events (TCEs) within the fast streamer system and potentially also by individual fast streamers themselves. The TCEs are inferred to be the cause of impulsive sub-pulses that are characteristic features of classic IBP sferics. Additional development of the avalanches would be facilitated by the enhanced electric field ahead of the advancing front of the fast negative breakdown. In addition to showing the nature of IBPs and their enigmatic sub-pulses, the observations also provide a possible explanation for the unsolved question of how the streamer to leader transition occurs during the initial negative breakdown, namely, as a result of strong currents flowing in the final stage of successive IBPs, extending backward through both the IBP itself and the negative streamer breakdown preceding the IBP.

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85097642889&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85097642889&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1029/2019JD031940

DO - 10.1029/2019JD031940

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85097642889

SN - 2169-897X

VL - 125

JO - Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres

JF - Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres

IS - 23

M1 - e2019JD031940

ER -

Observations of the Origin of Downward Terrestrial Gamma-Ray Flashes

Abstract

Bibliographical note

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Cite this