A gauge theory for the 3+1 dimensional incompressible Euler equations

Abstract

We show that the incompressible Euler equations in three spatial dimensions can be expressed in terms of an abelian gauge theory with a topological BF term. A crucial part of the theory is a 3-form field strength, which is dual to a material invariant local helicity in the fluid. In one version of the theory, there is an additional 2-form field strength, with the magnetic field corresponding to fluid vorticity and the electric field identified with the cross-product of the velocity and the vorticity. In the second version, the 2-form field strength is instead expressed in terms of Clebsch scalars. We discuss the theory in the presence of the boundary and argue that edge modes may be present in the dual description of fluid flows with a boundary.