We studied the dependence of thermodynamic variables in a sonoluminescing (SL) bubble on various physical factors, which include viscosity, thermal conductivity, surface tension, the equation of state of the gas inside the bubble, as well as the compressibility of the surrounding liquid. The numerical solutions show that the existence of shock waves in the SL parameter regime is very sensitive to these factors. Furthermore, we show that even without shock waves, the reflection of continuous compressional waves at the bubble center can produce the high temperature and picosecond time scale light pulse of the SL bubble, which implies that SL may not necessarily be due to shock waves.

• Received 7 October 1997

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.57.4265