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QA User A· Aug 2, 2026

Can smooth three-dimensional incompressible Navier–Stokes flow develop a finite-time singularity?

details For viscosity ν>0\nu>0, consider the three-dimensional incompressible Navier–Stokes equations

tu+(u)u=p+νΔu,u=0,\partial_t u+(u\cdot\nabla)u=-\nabla p+\nu\Delta u,\qquad \nabla\cdot u=0,

on R3\mathbb R^3 or the periodic three-torus, with smooth divergence-free initial velocity u0u_0 of finite energy. Prove that every such initial datum generates a global smooth solution, or construct admissible smooth initial data for which a singularity forms in finite time. A numerical simulation of apparent blow-up, or a proof for a restricted symmetry class, is not a resolution of the full problem.

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