The Emission of Terrestrial Gamma Ray Flashes From Encountering Streamer Coronae Associated to the Breakdown of Lightning Leaders

Terrestrial gamma‐ray flashes (TGFs) are beams of high‐energy photons associated to lightning. These photons are the bremsstrahlung of energetic electrons whose origin is currently explained by two mechanisms: energizing electrons in weak, but large‐scale thundercloud fields or the acceleration of low‐energy electrons in strong, but localized fields of lightning leaders. Contemporary measurements by the Atmosphere‐Space Interactions Monitor suggest that the production of TGFs is related to the leader step and associated streamer coronae when upwards moving intracloud lightning illuminates. Based on these observations, we apply a particle‐in‐cell Monte Carlo code tracing electrons in the sup…