On the boundedness of the Stokes semigroup in two-dimensional exterior domains (Q1319330)

It is proved that the semigroup associated with the nonstationary Stokes equations in exterior domains of \(\mathbb{R}^ 2\) is uniformly bounded in \(L^ r\)-spaces \((1<r<\infty)\). This result is derived from a complete potential theoretic investigation of the corresponding Stokes resolvent equations, including a derivation of the fundamental tensor. A new potential ansatz leads to uniquely solvable Fredholm boundary integral equations, whose solution can be estimated independently of the resolvent parameter. The results allow to define the fractional powers of the Stokes operator and lead to strong decay properties for solutions of the nonstationary Stokes equations.