Straight lightning as a signature of macroscopic dark matter

Starkman, Nathaniel; Winch, Harrison; Sidhu, Jagjit Singh; Starkman, Glenn D.

doi:10.1103/physrevd.103.063024

Cited by 11 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…This expression represents the fair-weather electric field in the mid-latitudes for heights below about 60 km. The electric field predicted by (1) and the atmospheric potential resulting from this electric field change with height are shown in Figure 1. Note that the electric field decreases rapidly with height, due to the increasing conductivity of the atmosphere, and this electric field raises the upper atmosphere to a potential of about 250 kV.…”

Section: Charging Of a Macro Channel In The Fair-weather Electric Fieldmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The typical size of a thundercloud is about 20 km in diameter and about 2000 thunderstorms are active at any given time. Based on this data, Starkman et al [1] estimated that the macro-induced lightning flash rate will be about 10 −6 /s. This is much smaller than the rate normal lightning flashes striking the Earth which is about 100/s.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In a recent paper, Starkman et al [1] explored and discussed various ways that the passage of macroscopic dark matter (macros) across the Earth could be detected. Since macros interact strongly with matter, they pointed out that their passage through the atmosphere can lead to the ionization of air, creating an ionized trail along their trajectory.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Since macros interact strongly with matter, they pointed out that their passage through the atmosphere can lead to the ionization of air, creating an ionized trail along their trajectory. Utilizing this fact, Starkman et al [1] came up with a novel idea to detect the presence and propagation of macros through the atmosphere. The idea they have put forward is the following.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This is called the return stroke. Starkman et al [1] pointed out that a macro passing through the atmosphere will give rise to an ionized channel with temperature and electron densities similar to those of a lightning leader. They hypothesized that when a macro passes through a thundercloud, a lightning leader could be locked in by this ionized channel and travels towards the ground along the ionized channel, giving rise to a lightning flash.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Could Macroscopic Dark Matter (Macros) Give Rise to Mini-Lightning Flashes out of a Blue Sky without Clouds?

Cooray

Rubinstein

et al. 2021

Atmosphere

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A recent study pointed out that macroscopic dark matter (macros) traversing through the Earth’s atmosphere can give rise to hot and ionized channels similar to those associated with lightning leaders. The authors of the study investigated the possibility that when such channels created by macros pass through a thundercloud, lightning leaders may be locked in by these ionized channels, creating lightning discharges with perfectly straight channels. They suggested the possibility of detecting such channels as a means of detecting the passage of macros through the atmosphere. In this paper, we show that such macros crossing the atmosphere under fair weather conditions could also give rise to mini-lightning flashes with current amplitudes in the order of a few hundred Amperes. These mini-lightning flashes would generate a thunder signature similar to or stronger than those of long laboratory sparks and they could also be detected by optical means. As in the case of thunderstorm-assisted macro lightning, these mini-lightning flashes are also associated with straight channels. Moreover, since the frequency of mini-lightning flashes is about thirty times greater than the macro-generated lightning flashes assisted by thunderstorms, they could be used as a means to look for the paths of macroscopic dark matter crossing the atmosphere.

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Section: Charging Of a Macro Channel In The Fair-weather Electric Fieldmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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