Preliminary Breakdown Pulses (PBP): A review on available data and models

Lightning is a major risk for humans, animals, and electrical systems. Many researches focused on the fully developed events, such as the Return Stroke (RS) current, the emitted electromagnetic fields, and the phenomenon modeling. However, there is poor understanding regarding precursors, such as Preliminary Breakdown Pulses (PBP). PBP are the pulses before the first RS. Studying these pulses provides understanding into the initial event that triggers the process within the cloud. Sufficient measurement data and a reliable model of PBP help to forecast the lightning flash development and help creating effective protection systems, ultimately enhancing the safety and reliability of electrical infrastructure and minimizing the risk of damage from lightinings. The aim of this paper is to conduct an extensive literature review to identify sources of measured data of PBP and the available modeling methods. The first part provides a review of key existing experimental studies, discussing aspects such as measurement equipment, signals, data, identification algorithms, and statistical observations. The second part discusses the methods available for modeling PBP categorized into descriptive and physical models. Descriptive models focus on reconstructing the primary PBP features from measured data, while physical models aim to explore the underlying physical mechanisms of PBPs.