Formation of Streamer Discharges from an Isolated Ionization Column at Subbreakdown Conditions

Liu, Ningyu; Kosar, Burcu; Sadighi, Samaneh; Dwyer, J. R.; Rassoul, H. K.

doi:10.1103/physrevlett.109.025002

Cited by 76 publications

(109 citation statements)

References 24 publications

(30 reference statements)

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“…A recently proposed theory suggests that the presence of strong plasma irregularities in the D-region ionosphere is a necessary condition for the initiation of sprite streamers 10,16 , and modelling results show that vertically elongated plasma columns are more favourable for streamer initiation when compared with spherical irregularities 17,18 . The above reconstructed images demonstrate for the first time solid evidence of kilometre-scale plasma irregularities in association with sprite streamer initiation in the D-region ionosphere.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…According to previous modelling studies 11,17,19 , the electron density in plasma irregularities needs to be B2-5 orders of magnitude higher than the ambient electron density to initiate sprite streamers, depending on the onset altitude of the sprite streamers (at lower altitudes, the difference needs to be larger). It is reasonable to believe that such strong perturbations cannot persist in a quiet lower ionosphere, and it is important to emphasize that the origin(s) of those plasma irregularities cannot be determined using the results presented in this work.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Plasma irregularities in the D-region ionosphere in association with sprite streamer initiation

et al. 2014

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Sprites are spectacular optical emissions in the mesosphere induced by transient lightning electric fields above thunderstorms. Although the streamer nature of sprites has been generally accepted, how these filamentary plasmas are initiated remains a subject of active research. Here we present observational and modelling results showing solid evidence of pre-existing plasma irregularities in association with streamer initiation in the D-region ionosphere. The video observations show that before streamer initiation, kilometre-scale spatial structures descend rapidly with the overall diffuse emissions of the sprite halo, but slow down and stop to form the stationary glow in the vicinity of the streamer onset, from where streamers suddenly emerge. The modelling results reproduce the sub-millisecond halo dynamics and demonstrate that the descending halo structures are optical manifestations of the pre-existing plasma irregularities, which might have been produced by thunderstorm or meteor effects on the D-region ionosphere.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plasma irregularities in the D-region ionosphere in association with sprite streamer initiation

et al. 2014

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“…The initiation of sprite streamers at sub-breakdown conditions was addressed by a few recent modelling studies 21,22,25 . It has been found that streamers can be initiated from thin, dense column ionization patches with a plasma density more than three orders of magnitude, higher than the ambient ionospheric electron density 21,22 or from hundreds of metre wide spherical patches with a density about two orders of magnitude higher than the ambient value 25 .…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The propagation characteristics of a single sprite streamer, such as acceleration, expansion and brightening, are relatively well understood [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18] . However, how sprite streamers are initiated, a critical question to understand the responses of the upper atmosphere to sudden, strong QE field impacts, is still under active debate 14,[19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26] .…”

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confidence: 99%

Sprite streamer initiation from natural mesospheric structures

et al. 2015

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Sprites are large, luminous electrical discharges in the upper atmosphere caused by intense cloud-to-ground lightning flashes, manifesting an impulsive coupling mechanism between lower and upper atmospheric regions. Their dynamics are governed by filamentary streamer discharges whose propagation properties have been well studied by past work. However, how they are initiated is still under active debate. It has recently been concluded that ionospheric/ mesospheric inhomogeneities are required for their initiation, but it is an open question as to what the sources of those inhomogeneities are. Here we present numerical simulation results to demonstrate that naturally-existing, small-scale mesospheric structures such as those created by gravity waves via instability and breaking are viable sources. The proposed theory is supported by a recent, unique high-speed observation from aircraft flying at 14-km altitude. The theory naturally explains many aspects of observed sprite streamer initiation and has important implications for future observational work.

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“…Qin et al (2012) showed that the minimum CMC for initiating a positive sprite could be as small as ~200 C km, and vertically elongated inhomogeneity in electron density are found to be more favorable for sprite initiation. Results from simulation work conducted by Liu et al (2012) showed that positive streamers could be initiated from the tip of an ionization column in a uniform applied electric field well below the breakdown threshold field and discussed the importance of inhomogeneities. Studies by Kosar et al (2012) showed that when an appropriate ionization column is introduced, the streamer could be initiated in a variety of electric fields with the lowest electric field of 0.3 E k (E k is the breakdown threshold field).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sprite possibly produced by two distinct positive cloud-to-ground lightning flashes

Yang¹,

Lu²,

Liu³

et al. 2017

Terr. Atmos. Ocean. Sci.

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Transient luminous event (TLEs) observations have been conducted in mainland China since 2007, with a number of TLEs documented. This study analyzed a very unusual and unique positive sprite event, that may be produced jointly by two distinct positive cloud-to-ground lightning flashes (+CGs) occurring within a short time difference but with different locations separated by about 27 km. This observation is different from previous studies reporting that most of the sprites were triggered by a single +CG flash and its possible following continuous current. Detailed analysis on extremely low frequency (ELF) magnetic field shows that combined charge moment change (CMC) due to the two +CGs is smaller (~1478 C km) than those of the parent CGs for the other two sprites (1582 and 2134 C km, respectively) recorded over the same thunderstorm. The vertical extension and brightness of the sprites correspond well with the CMC of their parent CGs, namely, the larger the CMC value the brighter the sprite, and the larger the CMC value the larger the vertical extension. Negative lightning flashes dominated during the thunderstorm life cycle. The three sprites occurred during a time window in which both negative and positive flashes were active. The three sprites occurred over the thunderstorm stratiform region.

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Formation of Streamer Discharges from an Isolated Ionization Column at Subbreakdown Conditions

Cited by 76 publications

References 24 publications

Plasma irregularities in the D-region ionosphere in association with sprite streamer initiation

Plasma irregularities in the D-region ionosphere in association with sprite streamer initiation

Sprite streamer initiation from natural mesospheric structures

Sprite possibly produced by two distinct positive cloud-to-ground lightning flashes

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