Asymptotic criticality of the Navier-Stokes regularity problem (Q6586835)

This paper develops an approach to global regularity issues for 3D Navier-Stokes equations. It is well known that this system is supercritical in the sense that there is a ``scaling gap'' between any regularity of solutions criterion and the corresponding a priori bound (regardless of the functional framework used). The authors use the notion of sparseness. Thus, the scale of sparseness defines spaces \(Z_\alpha\) more vast than \(L^{\alpha d}_{\mathrm{weak}}\) in \(\mathbb R^d\). Applying such an approach to higher order (\(=k\)) derivatives of the velocity governed by the Navier-Stokes equations, the authors show that the scaling gap asymptotically vanishes as \(k\to\infty\). More precisely, suitable sparseness order estimates are derived for super-level sets of those derivatives. They reveal a weakening of nonlinear effects through the interplay between the spatial intermittency and the local-in-time monotonicity properties of chains of derivatives.