On the electric field at the tip of dart leaders in lightning flashes

The results obtained in this study show that as the dart leader tip passes a given point on the defunct return stroke channel the electric field increases within a fraction of a microsecond to values larger than the critical electric field necessary for the initiation of cold electron runaway in low-density air comprising the channel. These results are in support of the hypothesis that cold runaway electron breakdown may play a role in the emission of X-ray bursts by dart leaders. The calculations also show that the peak power dissipated by a typical dart leader is about 300-500 MW/m and the energy dissipated within the first 10 mu s or so is about 500-600 J/m. Furthermore, the minimum resistance and the maximum radius of the core of a typical dart leader are estimated to be about 3 Omega/m and 0.003 m, respectively. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.