The Microphysics of Lightning: Observing the Optical Emission from Downward Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flashes

闪电的微观物理：观察向下的地面伽马射线闪光的光发射

• 批准号: 2112709
• 负责人: Rasha Abbasi
• 金额: $ 50.52万
• 依托单位: Loyola University of Chicago
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2021-08-01 至 2024-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2112709&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Microphysics; Lightning; Observing; Optical; Emission

This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2).Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flashes (TGFs) are bursts of high energy photons of sub millisecond duration that are produced by lightning. The study of TGFs, both their initiation and propagation, is of major interest to lightning researchers. The Telescope Array Surface Detector (TASD), a 700 km2 cosmic ray detector located in the western desert of Utah, U.S.A. is currently the world’s leading detector in the study of downward-directed TGFs. This project will allow further investigation of the initiation phase of downward TGFs by measuring their optical component using a high-speed video camera and a photometer at the Telescope Array site. The results of this project will improve our understanding of lightning, which in turn will improve the ability to mitigate its negative effects and associated radiation hazards. The outreach component of this work will allow scientists to describe the microphysics of lightning to the public at a powerful and impactful level through various communication venues. While it is known that TGFs are produced inside thunderstorms and in correlation with lightning, both the mechanism responsible for producing TGFs and the relation of intra-cloud discharges to TGFs are still unknown. There are several leading possible mechanisms that are believed to produce TGFs. Multiple studies conclude that each mechanism’s optical signature is distinctly different. The intensities at which the optical emission at different wavelengths is detected would provide key information about the lightning development sequence. This award will allow the observation of the relationship between downward-directed TGFs and their optical emissions using a high-speed video camera and a photometer in conjunction with Lightning Mapping Array (LMA) stations, electric field-change detectors, and a high-speed broadband VHF interferometer. Results from these observations will be directly compared to the optical emissions observed simultaneously with the ASIM satellite’s upward-directed TGFs. Most importantly, it will provide answers to critical questions about TGFs and even lightning initiation processes, and will further the understanding regarding one of the top ten questions in lightning research: What are the mechanisms responsible for producing and propagating gamma-ray events in our atmosphere?This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

该奖项的全部或部分资金来自《2021年美国救援计划法案》(公法117-2)。地面伽马射线闪光(TGFs)是由闪电产生的持续时间为亚毫秒的高能光子爆发。闪电研究人员对TGFs的产生和传播进行了深入的研究。位于美国犹他州西部沙漠的望远镜阵列表面探测器(TASD)是一台700平方公里的宇宙射线探测器，目前是世界上研究向下定向TGFs的领先探测器。该项目将通过在望远镜阵列现场使用高速摄像机和光度计测量向下的TGFs的光学组件，从而进一步研究向下的TGFs的启动阶段。该项目的成果将提高我们对闪电的理解，进而提高减轻其负面影响和相关辐射危害的能力。这项工作的外展部分将使科学家能够通过各种交流场所，以强大和有影响力的水平向公众描述闪电的微物理。虽然已经知道TGFs是在雷暴中产生的，并且与闪电相关，但产生TGFs的机制以及云内放电与TGFs的关系仍不清楚。据信，有几种主要的可能机制可以产生TGFs。多项研究得出结论，每种机制的光学特征明显不同。探测到不同波长的光发射的强度将提供有关闪电发展序列的关键信息。该奖项将允许使用高速摄像机和光度计，结合闪电测绘阵列(LMA)站、电场变化探测器和高速宽带甚高频干涉仪，观察向下定向的TGFs及其光学发射之间的关系。这些观测的结果将直接与ASIM卫星同时向上定向的TGF所观测到的光学发射进行比较。最重要的是，它将为有关闪电引爆过程的关键问题提供答案，并将促进对闪电研究十大问题之一的理解：在我们的大气中产生和传播伽马射线事件的机制是什么？这一奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

项目成果

Observation of variations in cosmic ray single count rates during thunderstorms and implications for large-scale electric field changes

• DOI: 10.1103/physrevd.105.062002
• 发表时间: 2021-11
• 期刊: Physical Review D
• 影响因子: 5
• 作者: R. Abbasi;T. Abu-Zayyad;M. Allen;Y. Arai;R. Arimura;E. Barcikowski;J. Belz;D. Bergman;S. Blake;I. Buckland;R. Cady;B. Cheon;J. Chiba;M. Chikawa;T. Fujii;K. Fujisue;K. Fujita;R. Fujiwara;M. Fukushima;R. Fukushima;G. Furlich;N. Globus;R. Gonzalez;W. Hanlon;M. Hayashi;N. Hayashida;K. Hibino;R. Higuchi;K. Honda;N. Husseini;D. Ikeda;T. Inadomi;N. Inoue;T. Ishii;H. Ito;D. Ivanov;H. Iwakura;A. Iwasaki;H. Jeong;S. Jeong;H. Johnson;C. Jui;K. Kadota;F. Kakimoto;O. Kalashev;K. Kasahara;S. Kasami;H. Kawai;S. Kawakami;S. Kawana;K. Kawata;I. Kharuk;E. Kido;H. Kim;J. Kim;M. H. Kim;S. Kim;Y. Kimura;S. Kishigami;Y. Kubota;S. Kurisu;V. Kuzmin;M. Kuznetsov;Y. Kwon;K. H. Lee;R. LeVon;B. Lubsandorzhiev;J. Lundquist;K. Machida;H. Matsumiya;T. Matsuyama;J. Matthews;R. Mayta;J. Mazich;M. Minamino;K. Mukai;I. Myers;P. Myers;S. Nagataki;K. Nakai;R. Nakamura;T. Nakamura;Y. Nakamura;A. Nakazawa;E. Nishio;T. Nonaka;K. Obrien;H. Oda;S. Ogio;M. Ohnishi;H. Ohoka;Y. Oku;T. Okuda;Y. Omura;M. Ono;R. Onogi;A. Oshima;S. Ozawa;I. H. Park;M. Potts;M. Pshirkov;J. Remington;D. Rodriguez;G. Rubtsov;D. Ryu;H. Sagawa;R. Sahara;Y. Saito;N. Sakaki;T. Sako;N. Sakurai;K. Sano;K. Sato;T. Seki;K. Sekino;P. Shah;Y. Shibasaki;F. Shibata;N. Shibata;T. Shibata;H. Shimodaira;B. Shin;H. Shin;D. Shinto;J. Smith;P. Sokolsky;N. Sone;B. Stokes;T. Stroman;Y. Takagi;Y. Takahashi;M. Takamura;M. Takeda;R. Takeishi;A. Taketa;M. Takita;Y. Tameda;H. Tanaka;K. Tanaka;M. Tanaka;Y. Tanoue;S. Thomas;G. Thomson;P. Tinyakov;I. Tkachev;H. Tokuno;T. Tomida;S. Troitsky;R. Tsuda;Y. Tsunesada;Y. Uchihori;S. Udo;T. Uehama;F. Urban;T. Wong;M. Yamamoto;K. Yamazaki;J. Yang;K. Yashiro;F. Yoshida;Y. Yoshioka;Y. Zhezher;Z. Zundel

Atmospheric Gamma-ray Observations at the Telescope Array Detector

望远镜阵列探测器的大气伽马射线观测

• DOI: 10.1088/1742-6596/2398/1/012008
• 发表时间: 2022
• 期刊: Journal of Physics: Conference Series
• 作者: Abbasi, R.