Polarity symmetry of leaders in moist air

Abstract The most important physics underlying lightning is the leader discharge. The presence or absence of space stems/leaders in leader steps is the key to the polarity asymmetry of leaders, which describes the difference in macroscopic behavior between positive and negative leaders and is a long-term consensus among lightning physicists. It is generally believed that negative leader steps are led by space stem, and there is no space stem/leader in positive leader discharges. Here we report the emergence of the space stem and the bidirectional development of the space leader in positive leader steps in moist air, using a high-speed camera with unprecedented spatial-temporal resolution. The lifetime of space stem/leader in positive leader steps is shorter than that in negative leader steps, causing the uncover of space stem/leader in previous studies. The bidirectional development of space leaders in positive leader steps may be an important source for VHF radiations, illuminating insight into the outstanding problem that how positive lightning leaders produce VHF radiation.