Near identity transformations for the Navier-Stokes equations

Peter Constantin

Published 2001-12-12Version 1

The Navier-Stokes equations and their various approximations can be described in terms of near identity maps, that are diffusive particle path transformations of physical space. The active velocity is obtained from the diffusive path transformation and a virtual velocity using the Weber formula. The active vorticity is obtained from the diffusive path transformation and a virtual vorticity using a Cauchy formula. The virtual velocity and the virtual vorticity obey diffusive equations, which reduce to passive advection formally, if the viscosity is zero. Apart from being proportional to the viscosity, the coefficients of these diffusion equations involve second derivatives of the near identity transformation and are related to the Christoffel coefficients. If and when the near-identity transformation departs excessively from the identity, one resets the calculation. Lower bounds on the minimum time between two successive resettings are given in terms of the maximum enstrophy.