Pseudospectral bound and transition threshold for the 3D Kolmogorov flow

Abstract

In this paper, we establish the pseudospectral bound for the linearized operator of the Navier-Stokes equations around the 3D Kolmogorov flow. Using the pseudospectral bound and the wave operator method introduced in [LWZ], we prove the sharp enhanced dissipation rate for the linearized Navier-Stokes equations. As an application, we prove that if the initial velocity satisfies $\big\| U_0-\big(k_f^{-2}\sin(k_fy),0,0\big)\big\|_{H^2}\le c\nu^{\frac{7}{4}}$ ($\nu$ the viscosity coefficient) and $k_f\in (0,1)$, then the solution does not transition away from the Kolmogorov flow.