Single–bubble sonoluminescence (SBSL) converts a periodic acoustic drive into phase-locked, picosecond light emission from a trapped cavitation bubble. Despite decades of experimental and theoretical study, the physical origin of the emitted radiation remains debated across thermal, plasma, chemical, and interface-driven interpretations. This work reformulates SBSL within the ψ₀-OCM (Osborne Cosmological Model) as a boundary-forced redistribution event. Acoustic collapse is shown to drive a transient micro–Redistribution–Locked Zone (micro–RZL) at minimum radius during a brief PDS-0 → PDS-1 admissibility window in ψ₀-time. Within this window, the light flash is interpreted as a constraint-gated boundary discharge of compressed redistribution flux, rather than a bulk equilibrium thermal glow. A boxed Sonoluminescence Theorem is presented, the phenomenon is mapped onto a boundary-augmented redistribution action, and the standard Rayleigh–Plesset collapse cycle is overlaid with a collapse-stage admissibility map. The analysis explicitly clarifies why the mass–energy equivalence relation E = mc² does not universally govern transient, non-persistent emission events such as the sonoluminescence flash. The framework is compatible with established SBSL observations and does not replace hydrodynamic collapse models. Instead, it introduces a boundary-first criterion specifying when radiative emission becomes admissible, providing a unifying explanation for the timing, localization, and regime sensitivity of sonoluminescence.
John Francis Osborne (Thu,) studied this question.