Acoustic tokamak with strongly coupled toroidal bubbles

Abstract

Gas bubbles stabilized in toroidal 3D-printed cages are good acoustic resonators with an unusual topology. We arrange them in a circular array to obtain what we call an "acoustic tokamak" because of the torus shape of the whole array. We demonstrate experimentally and theoretically that the system features several acoustic modes resulting from the acoustic interaction between tori. The fundamental acoustic mode has a much lower frequency than that of the individual bubbles. The acoustic field along the circle inside the acoustic tokamak is remarkably homogeneous, as shown by our 3D simulations.