Toward a hydrodynamic theory of sonoluminescence

Abstract

For small Mach numbers the Rayleigh–Plesset equations (modified to include acoustic radiation damping) provide the hydrodynamic description of a bubble’s breathing motion. Measurements are presented for the bubble radius as a function of time. They indicate that in the presence of sonoluminescence the ratio of maximum to minimum bubble radius is about 100. Scaling laws for the maximum bubble radius and the temperature and duration of the collapse are derived in this limit. Inclusion of mass diffusion enables one to calculate the ambient radius. For audible sound fields these equations yield picosecond hot spots, such as are observed experimentally. However, the analysis indicates that a detailed description of sonoluminescence requires the use of parameters for which the resulting motion reaches large Mach numbers. Therefore the next step toward explaining sonoluminescence will require the extension of bubble dynamics to include nonlinear effects such as shock waves.