First Time‐Resolved Leader Spectra Associated With a Downward Terrestrial Gamma‐Ray Flash Detected at the Telescope Array Surface Detector

Abstract Optical emissions associated with Terrestrial Gamma ray Flashes (TGFs) have recently become important subjects in space‐based and ground‐based observations as they can help us understand how TGFs are produced during thunderstorms. In this paper, we present the first time‐resolved leader spectra of the optical component associated with a downward TGF. The TGF was observed by the Telescope Array Surface Detector (TASD) simultaneously with other lightning detectors, including a Lightning Mapping Array (LMA), an INTerFerometer (INTF), a Fast Antenna (FA), and a spectroscopic system. The spectroscopic system recorded leader spectra at 29,900 frames per second (33.44 s time resolution), covering a spectral range from 400 to 900 nm, with 2.1 nm per pixel. The recordings of the leader spectra began 11.7 ms before the kA return stroke and at a height of 2.37 km above the ground. These spectra reveal that optical emissions of singly ionized nitrogen and oxygen occur between 167 s before and 267 s after the TGF detection, while optical emissions of neutrals (H I, 656 nm; N I, 744 nm, and O I, 777 nm) occur right at the moment of the detection. The time‐dependent spectra reveal differences in the optical emissions of lightning leaders with and without downward TGFs.

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Publication Details

Journal
Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres
Published
2024-12-10
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1029/2024jd041720
Citations
5
Primary Topic
Lightning and Electromagnetic Phenomena
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
1.66

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article

First Time‐Resolved Leader Spectra Associated With a Downward Terrestrial Gamma‐Ray Flash Detected at the Telescope Array Surface Detector

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5 citations
Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres
Lightning and Electromagnetic Phenomena
1.66
article

First Time‐Resolved Leader Spectra Associated With a Downward Terrestrial Gamma‐Ray Flash Detected at the Telescope Array Surface Detector

R. Sakamoto, Marcelo M. F. Saba, T. Sako, N. Kieu, K. Smout, J. Mazich, P. Tinyakov, O. Kalashev, Michal Vrábel, Shigehiro Nagataki, I. Komae, K. H. Lee, Takaaki Ishii, H.S. Shin, W. Hanlon, Kunihiko Tanaka, T. Nakamura, S. Jeong, Y.-J. Kwon, Koh Takahashi, Dmitry Yu. Ivanov, N. Sakurai, Hideaki Shimodaira, Isaac Buckland, Shinji Sato, Yoshinori Takagi, ByongGu Cheon, Masao Murakami, A. Taketa, D. R. Bergman, Z. Gerber, M. Kuznetsov, T. M. Knight, K. Kasahara, F. Kakimoto, Diego Rhamon Reis da Silva, G. B. Thomson, M. Fukushima, P. R. Krehbiel, Noémie Globus, G. Furlich, K. Hibino, М. С. Пширков, Ivan Kharuk, Atsushi Matsuzawa, K. Kadota, Ryuji Takeishi, M. J. Lee, W. Rison, D. Ikeda, K. Y. Park, C. C. H. Jui, Christian N. Koyama, T. Abu‐Zayyad, B. K. Shin, F. Urban, Donald C. Warren, Dario Mazzucco, J. D. Smith, J.H. Kim, Tom A. Warner, Г. И. Рубцов, Hao-Ning He, A. Petrizze, Y. Zhezher, K. Shinozaki, Tatsuo Nakayama, Ivan Toucedo Cruz, D. Rodeheffer, E. Kido, J. Shikita, H. Oshima, Koji Mizuno, C. Rott, S. Ogio, Monica Allen, Yoshio Kawachi, H. B. Kim, Kunimoto Komatsu, Shunsuke Sakurai, M. Przybylak, I. Tkachev, T. Nonaka, R. LeVon, K. Kawata, Jon Paul Lundquist, N. Hayashida, N. Sakaki, Megumi Kuroiwa, Y. Tameda, K. Fujita, S. Ozawa, Rasha Abbasi, Dongsu Ryu, Kazuhiko Endo, Jackson Remington, John A. Mathews, M. Onishi, K. Komori, M. A. Stanley, Daiki Sato, M. Tanaka, A. Fedynitch, Z. Zundel, Francisco J. Gordillo‐Vázquez, Y. Kusumori, M. Kudenko, J. Zvirzdin, R. Kobo, Jihyun Kim, M. Potts, Masahiro Takeda, Ryo Higuchi, William Campbell, M. Mori, Igor Vaiman, S. Troitsky, T. Tomida, Y. Tsunesada, T. Fujii, J. N. Matthews, J. W. Belz, P. Sokolsky, N. Okazaki, B. T. Stokes, Y. Nakayama, I. H. Park, S. Udo, B. Lubsandorzhiev, M. Takita, M. Nakahara, A. Oshima, K. Yamazaki, H. Ohoka, K. Fujisue, S. B. Thomas, S. -W. Kim, T. Shibata, H. Sagawa, T. A. Stroman, K. Sekino
article en
5 citations

Abstract

Abstract Optical emissions associated with Terrestrial Gamma ray Flashes (TGFs) have recently become important subjects in space‐based and ground‐based observations as they can help us understand how TGFs are produced during thunderstorms. In this paper, we present the first time‐resolved leader spectra of the optical component associated with a downward TGF. The TGF was observed by the Telescope Array Surface Detector (TASD) simultaneously with other lightning detectors, including a Lightning Mapping Array (LMA), an INTerFerometer (INTF), a Fast Antenna (FA), and a spectroscopic system. The spectroscopic system recorded leader spectra at 29,900 frames per second (33.44 s time resolution), covering a spectral range from 400 to 900 nm, with 2.1 nm per pixel. The recordings of the leader spectra began 11.7 ms before the kA return stroke and at a height of 2.37 km above the ground. These spectra reveal that optical emissions of singly ionized nitrogen and oxygen occur between 167 s before and 267 s after the TGF detection, while optical emissions of neutrals (H I, 656 nm; N I, 744 nm, and O I, 777 nm) occur right at the moment of the detection. The time‐dependent spectra reveal differences in the optical emissions of lightning leaders with and without downward TGFs.

Journal of Geophysical Research AtmospheresVol. 129(24)
Marshall Space Flight Center (US), Université Libre de Bruxelles (BE), Shinshu University (JP), High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (JP), Shibaura Institute of Technology (JP), Chubu University (JP), Tokyo City University (JP), Osaka Electro-Communication University (JP), University of Nova Gorica (SI), Loyola University Chicago (US), Yonsei University (KR), Lomonosov Moscow State University (RU), Brookhaven National Laboratory (US), Czech Academy of Sciences (CZ), New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology (US), University of Utah (US), Purple Mountain Observatory (CN), University of Łódź (PL), Kanagawa University (JP), Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology (US), National Centre for Nuclear Research (PL), Institute for Nuclear Research (RU), Institute of Physics, Academia Sinica (TW), Astrobiology Center (JP), Association for the Development of Earthquake Prediction (JP), FZU ‒ Institute of Physics of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic (CZ), Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KR), Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (ES), Osaka Metropolitan University (JP), Institute of Particle and Nuclear Studies, Hanyang University (KR), Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (KR), Hiroshima City University (JP), University of Yamanashi (JP), Tokyo Metropolitan University (JP), The University of Tokyo (JP), Kōchi University (JP), Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (BR), Sungkyunkwan University (KR), National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (JP), Stanford University (US)
National Science Foundation, Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science
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Lightning and Electromagnetic Phenomena
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