Jet drops from bursting bubbles: How gravity and viscosity couple to inhibit droplet production.

When a bubble ruptures at a liquid surface the collapsing cavity produces a central jet that frequently breaks up into a series of droplets. Current experiment and theory predict that the production of jet drops will be limited by either viscous or gravitational effects. However, while there are a number of studies focusing on these two limiting cases, less is understood about the production of jet drops when both gravitational and viscous effects are significant. Here, we uncover the existence of an intermediate region where both gravitational and viscous effects play a critical role in jet-drop formation. We propose that the role of gravity is most important before rupture, and carry out simulations that demonstrate the importance of the equilibrium bubble shape in the production of jet drops.