Detection of high-energy gamma rays from winter thunderclouds

Phys Rev Lett. 2007 Oct 19;99(16):165002. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.99.165002. Epub 2007 Oct 17.

Abstract

A report is made on a comprehensive observation of a burstlike gamma-ray emission from thunderclouds on the Sea of Japan, during strong thunderstorms on 6 January 2007. The detected emission, lasting for approximately 40 sec, preceded cloud-to-ground lightning discharges. The burst spectrum, extending to 10 MeV, can be interpreted as consisting of bremsstrahlung photons originating from relativistic electrons. This ground-based observation provides the first clear evidence that strong electric fields in thunderclouds can continuously accelerate electrons beyond 10 MeV prior to lightning discharges.