NEW DATA ON SPACE AND TIME SCALES OF RELATIVISTIC RUNAWAY ELECTRON AVALANCHE FOR THUNDERSTORM ENVIRONMENT - MONTE-CARLO CALCULATIONS

Time and space scales of a relativistic runaway electron avalanche (RR EA) t(i) and l(i) for a thunderstorm environment were calculated by me ans of a simplified MC code and a standard VNIIEF MC code ELISA, with all possible kinds of elementary interactions being taken into account . The effect of elastic scattering on RREA was analyzed. New values of t(i) and l(i) were used to simulate the enhancement of X-ray emission inside thunderstorm clouds due to energization and avalanche multipli cation of cosmic-ray produced electrons. Results appeared to be consis tent with published data obtained during flight observations inside th underclouds. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.