title: Energetic radiation produced during rocket-triggered lightning.
abstract: Using a NaI(Tl) scintillation detector designed to operate in electrically noisy environments, we observed intense bursts of energetic radiation (>> 10 kiloelectron volts) during the dart leader phase of rocket-triggered lightning, just before and possibly at the very start of 31 out of the 37 return strokes measured. The bursts had typical durations of less than 100 microseconds and deposited many tens of megaelectron volts into the detector. These results provide strong evidence that the production of runaway electrons is an important process during lightning.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Space Sciences, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL 32901, USA.
authors.forename: Joseph R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Dwyer
authors.forename: Martin A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Uman
authors.forename: Hamid K
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Rassoul
authors.forename: Maher
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Al-Dayeh
authors.forename: Lee
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Caraway
authors.forename: Jason
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jerauld
authors.forename: Vladimir A
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Rakov
authors.forename: Douglas M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Jordan
authors.forename: Keith J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Rambo
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Corbin
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wright