Spatially and temporally resolved single bubble sonoluminescence and its entrainment in Rayleigh-Taylor jets

Abstract

Previous investigations of the temporal and spatial evolution of single bubble sonoluminescence (SBSL) have shown events to last on the order of tens to hundreds of picoseconds with spatial extents of less than 1 um. Here we present observations of the temporal and spatial evolution of laser-nucleated SBSL events in a high-pressure spherical resonator. Using high-speed imaging, we observe large, long-lived SBSL events reaching diameters of up to 50 um and lasting on the order of 30 ns. Observations of events entrained in Rayleigh-Taylor jets resulting from instabilities in the final stages of the bubbles collapses will also be presented. We observe the light emitting region entrained in these jets to reach velocities in excess of 4500 m/s and to travel up to 100 um before being extinguished. The size and duration of events, and the velocity of those entrained in Rayleigh-Taylor jets, will be compared to the maximum radius and collapse velocity of the bubbles responsible for generating them to develop a better understanding of the dynamics leading to, and the mechanisms responsible for light emissions during highly energetic collapse events. © 2013 Acoustical Society of America.