Na emission and bubble instability in single-bubble sonoluminescence

Na emission in single-bubble sonoluminescence (SBSL) was observed from 0.1 mM sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) solution containing a dissolved noble gas at a low acoustic pressure, at which a continuous spectral component was negligible. High-speed shadowgraph movies were captured at a frame rate of 30,000 fps, which indicated that bubble dancing is responsible for the Na emission. The measured bubble path length was well correlated with the Na intensity. The disintegration of a daughter bubble followed by immediate coalescence was frequently observed, which may have been the cause of the bubble dancing. A comparison of the Na spectra obtained in SBSL and multibubble SL showed that the conditions under which Na emission is generated are twofold. A narrow component was observed in the Na spectrum in SBSL, while narrow and broad components were observed in MBSL.