Observation of a possible neutron burst associated with a lightning discharge?

Abstract

During routine measurements of the background count rate of low-energy neutrons with a standard He-3 detector tube in the city of Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil, we observed a sudden and sharp increase in the neutron count rate. This sharp increase was practically simultaneous with a lightning discharge that occurred in the vicinity of the tube detector. Since sources of spurious signals, such as malfunctioning equipment and electrical transients, have been eliminated as causes of the observed event, we are led to conclude that we possibly recorded a burst of neutrons associated with the lightning discharge.