A Criterion for Uniqueness of Lagrangian Trajectories for Weak Solutions of the 3D Navier-Stokes Equations

Foias, Guillopé, & Temam showed in 1985 that for a given weak solution of the three-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations on a domain Ω, one can define a ‘trajectory mapping’ that gives a consistent choice of trajectory through each initial condition , and that respects the volume-preserving property one would expect for smooth flows. The uniqueness of this mapping is guaranteed by the theory of renormalised solutions of non-smooth ODEs due to DiPerna & Lions. However, this is a distinct question from the uniqueness of individual particle trajectories. We show here that if one assumes a little more regularity for u than is known to be the case, namely that , then the particle trajectories are unique and C ¹ in time for almost every choice of initial condition in Ω. This degree of regularity is more than can currently be guaranteed for weak solutions () but significantly less than that known to ensure that u is regular ( . We rely heavily on partial regularity results due to Caffarelli, Kohn, & Nirenberg and Ladyzhenskaya & Seregin.