Calculating radio emissions of positive streamer phenomena using 3D simulations

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Hauptverfasser: Malla, Hemaditya, Hare, Brian M., Cummer, Steven, Guo, Yihao, Malagón-Romero, Alejandro, Nijdam, Sander, Ebert, Ute, Teunissen, Jannis
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2024
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author Malla, Hemaditya
Hare, Brian M.
Cummer, Steven
Guo, Yihao
Malagón-Romero, Alejandro
Nijdam, Sander
Ebert, Ute
Teunissen, Jannis
author_facet Malla, Hemaditya
Hare, Brian M.
Cummer, Steven
Guo, Yihao
Malagón-Romero, Alejandro
Nijdam, Sander
Ebert, Ute
Teunissen, Jannis
contents We study radio emissions from positive streamers in air using 3D simulations, from which the radiated electric field is computed by solving Jefimenko's equations. The simulations are performed at 0.5 bar using two photoionization methods: the Helmholtz approximation for a photon density and a Monte Carlo method using discrete photons, with the latter being the most realistic. We consider cases with single streamers, streamer branching, streamers interacting with preionization and streamer-streamer encounters. We do not observe a strong VHF radio signal during or after branching, which is confirmed by lab experiments. This indicates that the current inside a streamer discharges evolves approximately continuously during branching. On the other hand, stochastic fluctuations in streamer propagation due to Monte Carlo photoionization lead to more radio emission being emitted at frequencies of 100 MHz and above. Another process that leads to such high-frequency emission is the interaction of a streamer with a weakly preionized region, which can be present due to a previous discharge. In agreement with previous work, we observe the strongest and highest-frequency emission from streamer encounters. The amount of total energy that is radiated seems to depend primarily on the background electric field, and less on the particular streamer evolution. Finally, we present approximations for the maximal current along a streamer channel and a fit formula for a streamer's current moment.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2404_09772
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Calculating radio emissions of positive streamer phenomena using 3D simulations
Malla, Hemaditya
Hare, Brian M.
Cummer, Steven
Guo, Yihao
Malagón-Romero, Alejandro
Nijdam, Sander
Ebert, Ute
Teunissen, Jannis
Plasma Physics
Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics
We study radio emissions from positive streamers in air using 3D simulations, from which the radiated electric field is computed by solving Jefimenko's equations. The simulations are performed at 0.5 bar using two photoionization methods: the Helmholtz approximation for a photon density and a Monte Carlo method using discrete photons, with the latter being the most realistic. We consider cases with single streamers, streamer branching, streamers interacting with preionization and streamer-streamer encounters. We do not observe a strong VHF radio signal during or after branching, which is confirmed by lab experiments. This indicates that the current inside a streamer discharges evolves approximately continuously during branching. On the other hand, stochastic fluctuations in streamer propagation due to Monte Carlo photoionization lead to more radio emission being emitted at frequencies of 100 MHz and above. Another process that leads to such high-frequency emission is the interaction of a streamer with a weakly preionized region, which can be present due to a previous discharge. In agreement with previous work, we observe the strongest and highest-frequency emission from streamer encounters. The amount of total energy that is radiated seems to depend primarily on the background electric field, and less on the particular streamer evolution. Finally, we present approximations for the maximal current along a streamer channel and a fit formula for a streamer's current moment.
title Calculating radio emissions of positive streamer phenomena using 3D simulations
topic Plasma Physics
Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2404.09772