On the Cauchy problem for 3D Navier-Stokes helical vortex filament

Abstract

This paper studies the Cauchy problem for a helical vortex filament evolving by the 3D incompressible Navier-Stokes equations. We prove global-in-time well-posedness and smoothing of solutions with initial vorticity concentrated on a helix. We provide a local-in-time well-posedness result for vortex filaments periodic in one spatial direction, and show that solutions with helical initial data preserve this symmetry. We follow the approach of [4], where the analogue local-in-time result has been obtained for closed vortex filaments in $R^3$. Next, we apply local energy weak solutions theory with a novel estimate for helical functions in non-helical domains to uniquely extend the solutions globally in time. This is the first global-in-time well-posedness result for a vortex filament without size restriction and without vanishing swirl assumptions.