Overview

• Victor Pasko and colleagues published the Photoelectric Feedback Discharge model on July 28 in the Journal of Geophysical Research, providing the first quantitative explanation of how lightning initiates.
• The framework shows that strong thundercloud electric fields accelerate electrons, which collide with air molecules to emit X-rays and trigger cascading avalanches that spawn lightning bolts.
• It explains terrestrial gamma-ray flashes without visible light or radio emissions by attributing them to compact, variable-strength runaway electron avalanches.
• Doctoral student Zaid Pervez matched simulations to data from ground sensors, satellites and high-altitude aircraft, including a TGF linked to a lightning bolt in Kanazawa, Japan.
• All model equations are publicly available, giving researchers a standardized tool for advancing storm dynamics research, aviation safety and infrastructure resilience.