Potentially singular behavior of 3D incompressible Navier-Stokes equations

Thomas Hou
California Institute of Technology
Applied and Computational Mathematics

Whether the 3D incompressible Navier-Stokes equations can develop a finite time singularity from smooth initial data is one of the most challenging problems in nonlinear PDEs. In this talk, I will present some numerical evidence that the 3D Navier-Stokes equations develop nearly self-similar singular scaling properties with maximum vorticity increased by a factor of $10^7$. This potentially singular behavior is induced by a potential finite time singularity of the 3D Euler equations. We have applied several blowup criteria to study the potentially singular behavior of the Navier-Stokes equations. The Beale-Kato-Majda blow-up criterion, the blowup criteria based on the growth of enstrophy and negative pressure, the Ladyzhenskaya-Prodi-Serrin regularity criteria all seem to imply that the Navier-Stokes equations develop potentially singular behavior. Finally, we present some new numerical evidence that a variant of the axisymmetric Navier-Stokes equations with time dependent fractional dimension develops nearly self-similar blowup with maximum vorticity increased by a factor of $10^{32}$.


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