First High‐Speed Video Camera Observations of a Lightning Flash Associated With a Downward Terrestrial Gamma‐Ray Flash

Rasha Abbasi ,D R Bergman,G B Thomson,W Hanlon,N Sakurai,M S Pshirkov,T Shibata,M Allen,Y Tsunesada,I H Park,B Lubsandorzhiev,A Petrizze,K Tanaka,K Smout,S B Thomas,N Hayashida,N Inoue,B K Shin,M Takeda,J Shikita,N Sakaki,T A Stroman,M Ono,S Ozawa,S Troitsky,M Takita,R Levon,N Kieu,S Ogio,K Hibino,D Ivanov,A Taketa,I Kharuk,J W Belz,R Mayta,J H Kim,F Kakimoto,M Kuznetsov,D Shinto,S A Blake,H Sagawa,K Honda,T Matsuyama,P Tinyakov,Y J Kwon,P D Shah,H M Jeong,J Mazich,R Nakamura,J Remington,R Arimura,K Yashiro,Y Shibasaki,W Rison,H Ohoka,A Iwasaki,M A Stanley,T Nonaka,E Nishio,E Kido,Z Zundel,E Barcikowski,K H Lee,A Oshima,M Tanaka,O Kalashev,B G Cheon,I Komae,S Jeong,S Kawakami,K Kasahara,K Takahashi,T Seki,M Yamamoto,D R Da Silva,T Abu‐Zayyad,I Myers,Y Kubota,I Buckland,S W Kim,S Udo,D Warren,C Rott,I Tkachev,M Chikawa,H B Kim,K Kadota,D Ikeda,B T Stokes,H Tokuno,M Ohnishi,A Nakazawa,J N Matthews,T Tomida,K Yamazaki,Y Tameda,K Kawata,R Gonzalez,P Sokolsky,P R Krehbiel,M Takamura,H Shimodaira,M Fukushima,K Sekino,T Sako,J D Smith,Federico Urban ,Ryo Higuchi ,Г Рубцов ,Saori Kasami ,D Rodeheffer ,Yuya Oku ,H H He ,Ryuji Takeishi ,Hirotaka Ito ,Marcelo M F Saba ,Hirokazu Iwakura ,Yusuke Kimura ,Tony Wong ,Kozo Fujisue ,D C Rodriguez ,Kosuke Sato ,Takeshi Okuda ,Tohru Nakamura ,Matt Potts ,Fugo Yoshida ,Jon Paul Lundquist ,Keitaro Fujita ,Greg Furlich ,Yana Zhezher ,Toshihiro Fujii ,Takafumi Uehama ,Norimichi Shibata ,C Jui ,Han-Back Shin ,Noémie Globus ,Dongsu Ryu ,Kei Nakai ,Shigehiro Nagataki ,Ryota Fujiwara ,Ryosuke Tsuda ,Yugo Omura ,Takaaki Ishii

doi:10.1029/2023gl102958

Abstract

AbstractIn this paper, we present the first high‐speed video observation of a cloud‐to‐ground lightning flash and its associated downward‐directed Terrestrial Gamma‐ray Flash (TGF). The optical emission of the event was observed by a high‐speed video camera running at 40,000 frames per second in conjunction with the Telescope Array Surface Detector, Lightning Mapping Array, interferometer, electric‐field fast antenna, and the National Lightning Detection Network. The cloud‐to‐ground flash associated with the observed TGF was formed by a fast downward leader followed by a very intense return stroke peak current of −154 kA. The TGF occurred while the downward leader was below cloud base, and even when it was halfway in its propagation to ground. The suite of gamma‐ray and lightning instruments, timing resolution, and source proximity offer us detailed information and therefore a unique look at the TGF phenomena.

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