Articles | Volume 19, issue 19
https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-19-9289-2026
https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-19-9289-2026
Development and technical paper
 | 
01 Oct 2026
Development and technical paper |  | 01 Oct 2026

Relativistic runaway electron avalanches: unified density-dependent scaling and transport

Liza Hovhannisyan

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Threshold atmospheric electric fields for initiating relativistic runaway electron avalanches: theoretical estimates and CORSIKA simulations
Ashot Chilingarian, Liza Hovhannisyan, and Mary Zazyan
Geosci. Model Dev., 19, 621–626, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-19-621-2026,https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-19-621-2026, 2026
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Cited articles

Babich, L. P., Donskoy, E. N., Kutsyk, I. M., Kudryavtsev, A. Y., Roussel-Dupré, R. A., Shamraev, B. N., and Symbalisty, E. M. D.: Comparison of relativistic runaway electron avalanche rates obtained from Monte Carlo simulations and kinetic equation solution, IEEE T. Plasma Sci., 29, 430–438, https://doi.org/10.1109/27.928940, 2001. 
Berger, M. J., Coursey, J. S., Zucker, M. A., and Chang, J.: ESTAR, PSTAR, and ASTAR: Computer Programs for Calculating Stopping-Power and Range Tables for Electrons, Protons, and Helium Ions, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, https://doi.org/10.18434/T4NC7P, 2005. 
Bethe, H. A. and Heitler, W.: On the stopping of fast particles and on the creation of positive electrons, P. Roy. Soc. Lond. A, 146, 83–112, https://doi.org/10.1098/rspa.1934.0140, 1934. 
Buitink, S., Huege, T., Falcke, H., Heck, D., and Kuijpers, J.: Monte Carlo simulations of air showers in atmospheric electric fields, Astropart. Phys., 33, 1–10, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.astropartphys.2009.10.006, 2009. 
Chilingarian, A., Hovsepyan, G., and Hovhannisyan, A.: Particle bursts from thunderclouds: Natural particle accelerators above our heads, Phys. Rev. D, 83, 062001, https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.83.062001, 2011. 
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This study examines how high-energy particles develop and propagate in thunderstorm electric fields. Simulations at four high-altitude sites show that accounting for air density improves the description of particle avalanche growth across different atmospheric conditions. The study also examines how electrons and gamma rays propagate after leaving the accelerating field, providing a framework for interpreting high-energy atmospheric observations.
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