Out of equilibrium divergence of dissipation in an oscillating bubble coated by surfactants.

We report measurements of the relaxation and resonance frequency of forced oscillating bubbles covered by a layer of surface-active molecules, the anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). Less systematic investigations have been also carried out on neutral and cationic surfactants. A divergence of the viscous damping is observed at a very low bulk concentration. Subtle variations in the resonance peak are also measured. Bubble oscillations are driven by an electric field and measured with a sensitive interferometric technique. Results are interpreted with a model which takes care of the coupling between the dynamics of fluid surface oscillations and the properties of a surfactant monolayer in the vicinity of the phase transition from a gas-like distribution to a liquid-like assembly (the so-called gas-LE transition). Important charge effects are also considered. The basic assumptions of the model (cooperative adsorption of the surfactant at the air-water interface and coupling between the shape of the deformed surface and the local surfactant concentration) have been fully confirmed by extensive coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations on model systems.