Divergence-Free Approximation in Sobolev and Lebesgue Spaces on General Unbounded Domains with Applications to Energy Equality in Fluid Dynamics

Abstract

We construct divergence-free, vector-valued approximation functions on the whole space $\mathbb{R}^d$, $d\geq 2$, as well as on general unbounded domains of uniform $\mathrm{C}^{1,1}$-type. These approximations converge simultaneously in both Sobolev and Lebesgue spaces. In the whole-space setting, we employ Bogovski\uı\ operators to construct such approximations, thereby extending the approximation theory developed for smooth bounded domains and the simultaneous approximation framework introduced by \emph{Fefferman, Hajduk, and Robinson, {Proc. Lond. Math. Soc.} (3) \ {125} (2022), no.~4, 759-777}. As an application, we establish energy equality for Leray-Hopf weak solutions of the incompressible convective Brinkman-Forchheimer (CBF) equations on $\mathbb{R}^d$, $d\in\{2,3\}$ covering both the critical and supercritical regimes. For general unbounded domains, we employ the resolvent operator associated with the Stokes operator, developed by \emph{Farwig, Kozono and Sohr, {Acta Math.}, {195} (2005), 21-53}, to obtain simultaneous approximation results. We also establish a generalized version of the classical Lions-Magenes lemma, which is of independent interest. Finally, by combining this result with the simultaneous approximation framework for unbounded domains, we establish energy equality for weak solutions of the CBF equations on general unbounded domains.