On the stationary solutions and inviscid limit for the generalized Proudman-Johnson equation with \(O(1)\) forcing (Q2414780)

It is considered the periodic boundary value problem associated to the generalized Proudman-Johnson equation \[\partial_t \ \psi_{xx}+\psi \psi_{xxx}- a \ \psi_x \psi_{xx} = \nu \psi_{xxxx} + f,\] where $a \in \mathbb{R}$, $\nu >0$, $t \in [-\pi, \pi]$. The external force $f$ is always assumed to be mean-zero and time-independent. The Burgers equation and the 2D Navier-Stokes equations are directly connected with the generalized Proudman-Johnson equation when $a=-3$ and $a=1$, respectively. Several other values of $a$ correspond to other equations arising from physics and geometry. The authors first prove global (in time) existence for the generalized Proudman-Johnson equation. More precisely, assume $a \in [-3,1]$ and denote $\mathbb{T}=[-\pi,\pi)^2$. The authors prove that for any initial data $\psi_0 \in H^4(\mathbb{T}), f \in H^2(\mathbb{T})$ there is a unique solution $\psi \in C^0([0,T]; H^4)$ for any $T>0.$ Secondly, the authors consider the stationary problem \[\psi \ \psi_{xxx}- a \ \psi_x \psi_{xx} = \nu \psi_{xxxx} + f\] and prove that if $a \in [-3,0)\cup (0,1)$ then for any odd function $f $ there is at least one odd stationary solution $\psi \in C^{\infty}$. Uniqueness is proved in a class of ``relatively small'' odd functions. Finally, the authors investigate from the numerical point of view the behaviour of solution sequences to \[\psi \ \psi_{xxx}- a \ \psi_x \psi_{xx} = \nu \psi_{xxxx} + \dfrac{a-1}{2} \sin (2x),\] when the parameter $\nu$ tends to zero, with $a,f$ fixed; in this framework, bifurcation issues are examined as well. The proofs for the non-stationary case are developed by performing an a priori bound for the solution $||\psi||_{L^{\infty}}$; the proofs for the stationary case are developed by using the Leray-Schauder fixed point theorem.