Line emission in single-bubble sonoluminescence.

We report that single-bubble sonoluminescence (SBSL) at low light intensities produces emission bands similar to multibubble sonoluminescence (MBSL) for pure noble gas bubbles. A smooth crossover between SBSL and MBSL behavior can be induced by varying the acoustic pressure amplitude and thereby the intensity of the light emitted. The relative intensity of the band emission depends both on the molecular weight of the noble gas and the water temperature. Our results provide a connection between the mechanisms SBSL and MBSL and show that molecular emission plays a role in SBSL.