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Coleman & Dwyer 2006
Coleman, L.M. and Dwyer, J.R. (2006). Propagation speed of runaway electron avalanches. Geophysical Research Letters 33: doi: 10.1029/2006GL025863. issn: 0094-8276.

Simulations of relativistic runaway breakdown (RRB) are performed as functions of both time and space, resulting in explicit calculations of e-folding lengths (λ) and times (τ). The ratio of λ to τ agrees well with the speed of the avalanche, which ranges from 2.61 ¿ 108 m s-1 to 2.72 ¿ 108 m s-1. Thus, using the speed of light, c, for the ratio of λ to τ can cause a 10% error when estimating λ from τ. A 10% error in λ will cause a factor of three error in the predicted number of runaway electrons for every ten estimated e-foldings. In addition, previous models that predict peak radiated electric fields from RRB have used avalanche speeds of 0.987c and higher. Using a propagation speed of 0.89c causes a dramatic change in the predicted beaming pattern of electromagnetic radiation caused by RRB in these models.

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Abstract

Keywords
Atmospheric Processes, Theoretical modeling, Atmospheric Processes, Radiative processes, Atmospheric Processes, Remote sensing, Atmospheric Processes, Lightning, Atmospheric Processes, Atmospheric electricity
Journal
Geophysical Research Letters
http://www.agu.org/journals/gl/
Publisher
American Geophysical Union
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