The geometry and analysis of the averaged Euler equations and a new diffeomorphism group (Q1584725)

The Lagrangian formalism for the hydrodynamics of incompressible ideal fluids considers geodesic motion on \(\mathcal{D}_{\mu}^s:=\mathcal{D}_{\mu}^s(\Omega)\), the group of all volume preserving diffeomorphisms of a manifold \(\Omega\) of Sobolev class \(H^s\). Geodesics in this context extremize the energy associated with the \(L^2\) norm, which corresponds to the kinetic energy of the fluid. \textit{V. I. Arnold} [Ann. Inst. Fourier 16, No. 1, 319-361 (1966; Zbl 0148.45301)] and \textit{D. Ebin} and \textit{J. Marsden} [Ann. Math. (2) 92, 102-163 (1970; Zbl 0211.57401)] showed that \(\eta(t)\) is a smooth geodesic of the weak \(L^2\) right invariant metric in \(\mathcal{D}_{\mu}^s\) if and only if the Eulerian velocity field \(u(t)=\dot{\eta}(t)\circ \eta(t)^{-1}\) is a solution of the Euler equations. Moreover, Ebin and Marsden proved that the geodesic spray of the \(L^2\) right invariant metric in \(\mathcal{D}_{\mu}^s\) is \(C^{\infty}\) for \(s>(n/2)+1\). They derived a number of interesting consequences from this result, including theorems on the convergence of solutions of the Navier-Stokes equations to solutions of the Euler equations as viscosity limits to zero when \(\Omega\) is replaced by a manifold with no boundary. J. Marsden, D. Ebin and A. Fisher conjectured that although in a region \(\Omega\) with boundary, solutions of the Navier-Stokes equations would not in general converge to the solutions of the Euler equations, a certain averaged quantity of the flow may converge. This paper proves that an appropriate choice of right invariant metric on certain subgroups of \(\mathcal{D}_{\mu}^s\) yields geodesic equations, which may be interpreted as the ensemble-averaged Euler equations, whose solutions are indeed the regular limit of the solutions of their viscous counterparts. The first subgroup is given by \(\mathcal{D}_{\mu,0}^s=\{\eta\in \mathcal{D}_{\mu}^s \mid \eta=\text{identity on} \partial\Omega\}\). Let \(N\) denote the normal bundle on \(\partial\Omega\). The second group: \(\mathcal{N}_\mu^s=\{\eta\in \mathcal{D}_{\mu}^s \mid T\eta |_{\partial\Omega} n\in H^{s-3/2}_{\eta}(N),\;\forall n\in H^{s-1/2}_{\eta}(N)\}\). The right invariant metric on \(\mathcal{D}_{\mu,0}^s\) and \(\mathcal{N}_\mu^s\) is given at the identity by \[ \frac 12\int_{\Omega}\left(|u|^s+\alpha^2|\nabla u|^s \right)dx+\alpha^2\int_{\partial\Omega}\left(S_n(u)u\right)\gamma, \] where \(\alpha>0\) is a constant, \(S_n\) is the second fundamental form of \(\partial\Omega\), and \(\gamma\) is the induced volume form on \(\partial\Omega\).