Review of recent results on streamer discharges and discussion of their relevance for sprites and lightning

Abstract

It is by now well understood that large sprite discharges at the low air densities of the mesosphere are physically similar to small streamer discharges in air at standard temperature and pressure. This similarity is based on Townsend scaling with air density. First the theoretical basis of Townsend scaling and a list of six possible corrections to scaling are discussed; then the experimental evidence for the similarity between streamers and sprites is reviewed. We then discuss how far present sprite and streamer theory has been developed, and we show how streamer experiments can be interpreted as sprite simulations. We review those results of recent streamer research that are relevant for sprites and other forms of atmospheric electricity and discuss their implications for sprite understanding. These include the large range of streamer diameters and velocities and the overall 3D morphology with branching, interaction and reconnection, the dependence on voltage and polarity, the electron energies in the streamer head and the consecutive chemical efficiency and hard radiation. New theoretical and experimental results concern measurements of streamer spectra in air, the density dependence of streamer heating (hot leaders are unlikely at 80 km altitude and cold streamers are unlikely in liquids), and a discussion of the influence of magnetic fields on thermal electrons or on energetic electrons in streamers or sprites.

38 pages, 4 figures, article accepted for publication in J. Geophys. Res. - Space Physics

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• Sprite discharges on Venus and Jupiter-like planets: a laboratory investigation
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• Comparing simulations and experiments of positive streamers in air: steps toward model validation
• Condensed Matter Systems Exposed to Radiation: Multiscale Theory, Simulations, and Experiment
• Simulation of positive streamers in CO${}_2$ and in air: the role of photoionization or other electron sources
• A comparison of particle and fluid models for positive streamer discharges in air
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• A computational study of accelerating, steady and fading negative streamers in ambient air
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• Harvesting the decay energy of ${}^{26}$Al to drive lightning discharge in protoplanetary discs
• Simulations of positive streamers in air in different electric fields: steady motion of solitary streamer heads and the stability field
• Comment on "NOx production in laboratory discharges simulating blue jets and red sprites" by H. Peterson et al
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• 3D modeling of positive streamers in air with inhomogeneous density
• On the electrostatic field created at ground level by a halo
• Calculating radio emissions of positive streamer phenomena using 3D simulations
• Exploring terrestrial lightning parameterisations for exoplanets and brown dwarfs