Temperature and electron density for natural lightning return stroke followed by continuing current with M-components.zip

Using high time-resolved spectra of three natural lightning return strokes followed by continuing current processes with M-components, the temperatures and electron densities derived from different sets of neutral and ion line emissions have been quantitative analyzed and compared. The analysis shows the following: (1) The temperatures and electron densities derived from the singly ionized lines are higher than those derived from the neutral atom lines. (2) The temperatures and electron densities derived from the singly ionized lines during the continuing current process are higher than those of the corresponding return stroke. (3) The temperatures derived from the singly ionized lines for the return stoke and following continuing current processes stay the same or decrease with increasing height along the channel, while those derived from the neutral atom lines increase with the increase of the channel height. (4) The electron densities derived from the ion and neutral line emissions basically maintain invariable along channel height for the return stokes and following continuing current processes, except the electron densities derived from the neutral line for the two M-components of one lightning show an increasing trend along the channel height.