This set of six papers, written by eminent experts in the field, is concerned with that part of fluid mechanics that seeks its foundation in the rigorous mathematical treatment of the Navier-Stokes equations. In particular, an overview is given on state of research regarding the global existence of smooth solutions, for which uniqueness and continuous dependence on the data can be proven. Then, the book moves on to a discussion of recent developments of the finite element Galerkin method, with an emphasis on a priori and a posteriori error estimation and adaptive mesh refinement. A further article elaborates on spectral Galerkin methods and their extension to domains with complicated geometries by employing the techniques of domain decomposition. The rigorous explanation of bifurcation phenomena in fluids has long been a central topic in the theory of Navier-Stokes equations. Here, bifurcation theory is introduced in a general setting that is particularly convenient for application to such problems. Finally, the extension of Navier-Stokes theory to compressible viscous flows, studied in two more papers, opens up a fascinating panorama of theoretical and numerical problems. While some of the contributions are expository, others primarily present new results within a wider context and fuller exposition than is usual for research papers. The book is meant to introduce researchers and advanced students to the research level on some of the most important topics of the field.

This volume consists of five research articles, each dedicated to a significant topic in the mathematical theory of the Navier-Stokes equations, for compressible and incompressible fluids, and to related questions. All results given here are new and represent a noticeable contribution to the subject. One of the most famous predictions of the Kolmogorov theory of turbulence is the so-called Kolmogorov-obukhov five-thirds law. As is known, this law is heuristic and, to date, there is no rigorous justification. The article of A. Biryuk deals with the Cauchy problem for a multi-dimensional Burgers equation with periodic boundary conditions. Estimates in suitable norms for the corresponding solutions are derived for "large" Reynolds numbers, and their relation with the Kolmogorov-Obukhov law are discussed. Similar estimates are also obtained for the Navier-Stokes equation. In the late sixties J. L. Lions introduced a "perturbation" of the Navier Stokes equations in which he added in the linear momentum equation the hyper dissipative term (-Ll),Bu, f3 ~ 5/4, where Ll is the Laplace operator. This term is referred to as an "artificial" viscosity. Even though it is not physically moti vated, artificial viscosity has proved a useful device in numerical simulations of the Navier-Stokes equations at high Reynolds numbers. The paper of of D. Chae and J. Lee investigates the global well-posedness of a modification of the Navier Stokes equation similar to that introduced by Lions, but where now the original dissipative term -Llu is replaced by (-Ll)O:u, 0 S Ct < 5/4.

This volume consists of five research articles, each dedicated to a significant topic in the mathematical theory of the Navier-Stokes equations, for compressible and incompressible fluids, and to related questions. All results given here are new and represent a noticeable contribution to the subject. One of the most famous predictions of the Kolmogorov theory of turbulence is the so-called Kolmogorov-obukhov five-thirds law. As is known, this law is heuristic and, to date, there is no rigorous justification. The article of A. Biryuk deals with the Cauchy problem for a multi-dimensional Burgers equation with periodic boundary conditions. Estimates in suitable norms for the corresponding solutions are derived for "large" Reynolds numbers, and their relation with the Kolmogorov-Obukhov law are discussed. Similar estimates are also obtained for the Navier-Stokes equation. In the late sixties J. L. Lions introduced a "perturbation" of the Navier Stokes equations in which he added in the linear momentum equation the hyper dissipative term (-Ll),Bu, f3 ~ 5/4, where Ll is the Laplace operator. This term is referred to as an "artificial" viscosity. Even though it is not physically moti vated, artificial viscosity has proved a useful device in numerical simulations of the Navier-Stokes equations at high Reynolds numbers. The paper of of D. Chae and J. Lee investigates the global well-posedness of a modification of the Navier Stokes equation similar to that introduced by Lions, but where now the original dissipative term -Llu is replaced by (-Ll)O:u, 0 S Ct < 5/4.

This volume consists of six articles, each treating an important topic in the theory ofthe Navier-Stokes equations, at the research level. Some of the articles are mainly expository, putting together, in a unified setting, the results of recent research papers and conference lectures. Several other articles are devoted mainly to new results, but present them within a wider context and with a fuller exposition than is usual for journals. The plan to publish these articles as a book began with the lecture notes for the short courses of G.P. Galdi and R. Rannacher, given at the beginning of the International Workshop on Theoretical and Numerical Fluid Dynamics, held in Vancouver, Canada, July 27 to August 2, 1996. A renewed energy for this project came with the founding of the Journal of Mathematical Fluid Mechanics, by G.P. Galdi, J. Heywood, and R. Rannacher, in 1998. At that time it was decided that this volume should be published in association with the journal, and expanded to include articles by J. Heywood and W. Nagata, J. Heywood and M. Padula, and P. Gervasio, A. Quarteroni and F. Saleri. The original lecture notes were also revised and updated.

V.A. Solonnikov, A. Tani: Evolution free boundary problem for equations of motion of viscous compressible barotropic liquid.- W. Borchers, T. Miyakawa: On some coercive estimates for the Stokes problem in unbounded domains.- R. Farwig, H. Sohr: An approach to resolvent estimates for the Stokes equations in L(q)-spaces.- R. Rannacher: On Chorin's projection method for the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations.- E. S}li, A. Ware: Analysis of the spectral Lagrange-Galerkin method for the Navier-Stokes equations.- G. Grubb: Initial value problems for the Navier-Stokes equations with Neumann conditions.- B.J. Schmitt, W. v.Wahl: Decomposition of solenoidal fields into poloidal fields, toroidal fields and the mean flow. Applications to the Boussinesq-equations.- O. Walsh: Eddy solutions of the Navier-Stokesequations.- W. Xie: On a three-norm inequality for the Stokes operator in nonsmooth domains.

These proceedings contain original (refereed) research articles by specialists from many countries, on a wide variety of aspects of Navier-Stokes equations. Additionally, 2 survey articles intended for a general readership are included: one surveys the present state of the subject via open problems, and the other deals with the interplay between theory and numerical analysis.