Long-time asymptotics and invariant manifold for the fractional 2D Navier-Stokes equation

Abstract

We consider the two-dimensional incompressible Navier-Stokes equations with supercritical fractional dissipation in the vorticity formulation. In self-similar variables, we analyze the linearized operator in weighted spaces, prove a spectral gap, and construct a finite-dimensional local slow invariant manifold for small solutions. As a consequence, solutions are attracted to this manifold and admit an explicit long-time asymptotic expansion determined by the leading eigenmodes; additional moment conditions yield faster decay. We also show Lipschitz dependence of the manifold on the dissipation exponent, and recover the classical Navier-Stokes dynamics in the limit as the exponent approaches one.