Correlation of radio and gamma emissions in lightning initiation.

The results of simultaneous radio and gamma emission measurements during thunderstorms are presented. A gamma detector situated at the height 3840 m and two radio detectors of Tien-Shan Mountain Scientific Station (altitude 3340 m) registered intensive gamma flashes and radio pulses during the time of lightning initiation. The radio-gamma correlation grows abruptly at the initial moment (a few hundred microseconds), and the correlation coefficient reaches 0.9-0.95. The gamma-energy spectrum measured during lightning initiation is close to the characteristic spectrum of runaway breakdown. Radio pulses observed at the same time have highest amplitudes. Combined observation of gamma and radio emissions confirm the conception of lightning initiation due to multiple simultaneous electric discharges at hydrometeors stimulated and synchronized by low-energy electrons generated in the runaway breakdown process.

Strong flux of low-energy neutrons produced by thunderstorms.

We report here for the first time about the registration of an extraordinary high flux of low-energy neutrons generated during thunderstorms. The measured neutron count rate enhancements are directly connected with thunderstorm discharges. The low-energy neutron flux value obtained in our work is a challenge for the photonuclear channel of neutron generation in thunderstorm: the estimated value of the needed high-energy γ-ray flux is about 3 orders of magnitude higher than that one observed.