Liouville type theorems on the steady Navier-Stokes equations in R3

Abstract

In this paper we study the Liouville type properties for solutions to the steady incompressible Navier-Stoks equations in $\mathbf{R}^{3}$. It is shown that any solution to the steady Navier-Stokes equations in $\mathbf{R}^{3}$ with finite Dirichlet integral and vanishing velocity field at far fields must be trivial. This solves an open problem. The key ingredients of the proof include a Hodge decomposition of the energy-flux and the observation that the square of the deformation matrix lies in the local Hardy space. As a by-product, we also obtain a Liouville type theorem for the steady density-dependent Navier-Stokes equations.