Time resolved 3D interferometric imaging of a section of a negative leader with LOFAR

We have developed a three dimensional interferometric beamforming technique for imaging lightning flashes using very-high frequency (VHF) radio data recorded from several hundred antennas with baselines up to 100 km as offered by the Low Frequency Array. The long baselines allow us to distinguish fine structures on the scale of meters, while the large number of antennas allow us to observe processes that radiate at the same intensity as the background when using a time resolution that is close to the impulse-response time of the system, 100 ns. The new beamforming imaging technique is complementary to our existing impulsive imaging technique. We apply this new tool to the imaging of four stepped negative leaders in two flashes. For one flash, we observe the dynamics of corona bursts that are emitted in the stepping process. Additionally, we show that the intensity emitted in VHF during the stepping process follows a power law over 4 orders of magnitude in intensity for four leaders in two different lightning storms.

Automated summary

The newly developed three-dimensional interferometric beamforming technique allows for high-resolution imaging of lightning flashes using data from the Low Frequency Array, offering advantages in observing fine structures and spectral characteristics of lightning discharges.