On stability of blow-up solutions of the Burgers vortex type for the Navier-Stokes equations with a linear strain

Abstract

We study the three-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations in the presence of the axisymmetric linear strain, where the strain rate depends on time in a specific manner. It is known that the system admits solutions which blow up in finite time and whose profiles are in a backward self-similar form of the familiar Burgers vortices. In this paper it is shown that the existing stability theory of the Burgers vortex leads to the stability of these blow-up solutions as well. The secondary blow-up is also observed when the strain rate is relatively weak.

25 pages