CHAOTIC SONOLUMINESCENCE

Sonoluminescence (SL) is generated from single, stably oscillating bub bles in a stationary, time-periodic acoustic field. By measuring the t ime delay between flashes, the dynamics of the phenomenon has been inv estigated. While other researchers have concentrated on the remarkable periodic stability of the system, present results indicate that, for small variations in the governing parameters, period doubling, chaos, and quasiperiodicity can occur. The implications of the complex tempor al behavior for the problem of determining the mechanism(s) for produc tion of SL are discussed.