Horizontally periodic generalized surface quasigeostrophic patches and layers

Abstract

We study solutions to the $\alpha$-SQG equations, which interpolate between the incompressible Euler and surface quasi-geostrophic equations. We extend prior results on existence of bounded patches, proving propagation of $H^k$-regularity of the patch boundary, $k \ge 3$, for finite time for patches that are periodic in one spatial dimension. Such periodic patches also encompass layers, or two-sided fronts. As the authors have treated the Euler case in prior work, we now primarily focus on the range of $\alpha$ for which $\alpha$-SQG lies strictly between the Euler and SQG equations.