Similarity Analysis of the Streamer Zone of Blue Jets and Gigantic Blue Jets

Abstract:

Multiple observations of Blue Jets (BJ) and Gigantic Blue Jets (GBJ) show that BJ emits a fan of streamers similar to a laboratory leader. Moreover, in the exponential atmosphere those long streamers grow preferentially upward, producing a narrow cone confined by the aperture angle. Petrov and Petrova [1999] and Pasko and George [2002] noticed that BJ are similar to the streamer zone of a leader (streamer corona) and conducted modeling studies based on the streamers fractal structure.

Objective of this paper is to study the fractal dimension of the bunch of streamer channels emitted by BJ, at different altitude and under the varying reduced electric field. This similarity analysis has been done in three steps: First we described the dendritic structure of streamers in corona discharge applying the fractal theory by Popov [2002]. Then using this model and the data from existing laboratory experiments we obtained that the fractal dimension of the branching streamer channels D=2. We estimated next the packing factor of the streamers using the kinetic simulations that describe development of a group of streamers that propagate in a discharge gap while interact with each other. Finally the model was used to analyze some GBJ images available from the literature.

The model output includes evaluation of the total number of streamer channels in the GBJs along with estimates of the aperture angle and of the average distance between the brunches. In addition the analysis allows us to obtain the mean streamer velocity for the studied GBJs and check the velocity against the observations.

V.P. Pasko and J.J. George, J. Geophys. Res. 107, 1458, 2002

N.I. Petrov and G.N. Petrova, Tech Phys. Lett., 44, 472, 1999

N.A. Popov, Plasma Phys. Reports, 28, 615, 2002.