Global regularity of 2D Navier-Stokes free boundary with small viscosity contrast (Q6075028)

Summary: This paper studies the dynamics of two incompressible immiscible fluids in two dimensions modeled by the inhomogeneous Navier-Stokes equations. We prove that if initially the viscosity contrast is small then there is global-in-time regularity. This result has been proved recently in [\textit{M. Paicu} and \textit{P. Zhang}, Commun. Math. Phys. 376, No. 1, 385--439 (2020; Zbl 1439.35375)] for \(H^{5/2}\) Sobolev regularity of the interface. Here we provide a new approach which allows us to obtain preservation of the natural \(C^{1+\gamma}\) Hölder regularity of the interface for all \(0<\gamma<1\). Our proof is direct and allows for low Sobolev regularity of the initial velocity without any extra technicalities. It uses new quantitative harmonic analysis bounds for \(C^{\gamma}\) norms of even singular integral operators on characteristic functions of \(C^{1+\gamma}\) domains [\textit{F. Gancedo} and \textit{E. García-Juárez}, J. Funct. Anal. 283, No. 9, Article ID 109635, 42 p. (2022; Zbl 1502.42010)].