Abstract
Models of red sprites and blue jets based on the concept of the streamer‐leader mechanism of the air breakdown are presented. Red sprites are interpreted as the downward streamers of varying cross sections launched from plasma patches in the lower ionosphere, which are caused by the electric field generated by the lightning discharge. Results of this streamer model are in good agreement with the observations of sprites. Blue jets are interpreted as produced by a bileader, whose top part is seen on photos of blue jets as a “trunk of a tree.” The upward leader is capped by its streamer zone seen as the tall and narrow “branches” of “the tree.” It is shown that the long upward streamers of blue jets can be sustained by the moderate cloud charge due to transfer of the high potential of the thundercloud edge by the upward leader tip. It is revealed that the critical external field ES required for an unlimited streamer growth satisfies the similarity law ES/N ∼ constant for a wide range of the molecular number density N. In addition, the streamer length is estimated along with the height from which the streamers can reach the ionosphere. The main unresolved problems in the field are discussed.
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