Effect of Multiple Scattering on the Critical Electric Field for Runaway Electrons in the Atmosphere

TL;DR

This paper presents a straightforward method to incorporate multiple Coulomb scattering effects into the calculation of the critical electric field for runaway electrons in the atmosphere, aiding understanding of electron acceleration thresholds.

Contribution

It introduces a simple transcendental equation-based approach to account for multiple scattering in determining the runaway-electron separatrix.

Findings

The method effectively models the influence of multiple scattering on the critical electric field.

It simplifies the calculation process for the runaway-electron threshold in atmospheric conditions.

Abstract

A simple method for taking into account the multiple Coulomb scattering in construction of a separatrix (the line separating the regions of runaway and decelerating electrons in an electric field) is described. The desired line is obtained by solving a simple transcendental equation.