Isotope production in thunderstorms

Abstract:

Thunderstorms and lightnings are natural particle accelerator systems. Terrestrial gamma-ray flashes produce bursts of X and γ rays, energetic enough to produce photo-nuclear reactions within the atmosphere. Besides the avalanche of electromagnetic particles, such reactions creates new isotopes, which modify the air composition locally and produce novel potential ways of detecting and characterizing this high-energy phenomena.

Although the main mechanisms for isotope production via photo-nuclear reactions are known, a thorough study of the isotope generation in a typical TGF event has not yet been performed. In this talk, I will discuss the reactions involved in a TGF, the production of secondaries and analyze the generation of new isotopes in detail using the Monte Carlo transport code FLUKA. Their abundance, time and energy profiles are analyzed, which can be useful for establishing new measuring strategies.