On the atmospheric optical and radio emission accompanying cosmic gamma-ray bursts

The intensity of the atmospheric flashes that would be triggered by bursts of 0.01-10 MeV secondary gamma-ray photons is estimated to be comparable with the nightglow background whose intensity is below 5 x 10 to the -6th erg/cm s. Light flashes of this intensity can be detected with the large solar antenna arrays suggested for measuring the Cerenkov radiation from high-energy cosmic gamma rays. It is noted that due to their common generation mechanism, both optical and radio signals can be usefully incorporated in a program for detecting cosmic gamma-ray bursts.