Sonoluminescing Gas Bubbles

Abstract

We draw attention to the fact that the popular but unproven hypothesis of shock-driven sonoluminescence is incompatible with the reported synchronicity of the single bubble sonoluminescence (SBSL) phenomenon. Moreover, it is not a necessary requirement, since we show that the sub-shock dynamic heating in gas bubble cavitation can lead to conditions required to generate intense 100ps light pulses. To wit we study the dynamics of the interior of a cavitating gas bubble subject to conditions suitable for sonoluminescence. We explore quantitatively the transfer of energy from the sound wave to the bubble interior, the frequency of atomic collisions in the bubble, the limits of quasi-stability of the non-linear bubble oscillations driven by an acoustical field, and obtain the implied reaction time scales.