A priori estimates for the free-boundary Euler equations with surface tension in three dimensions

Abstract

We derive a priori estimates for the incompressible free-boundary Euler equations with surface tension in three spatial dimensions. Working in Lagrangian coordinates, we provide a priori estimates for the local existence when the initial velocity, which is rotational, belongs to $H^3$ and the trace of initial velocity on the free boundary to $H^{3.5}$, thus lowering the requirement on the regularity of initial data in the Lagrangian setting. Our methods are direct and involve three key elements: estimates for the pressure, the boundary regularity provided by the mean curvature, and the Cauchy invariance.