Chen Jiajie, Hou Thomas Y
Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, New York University, New York, NY 10012.
Department of Computing and Mathematical Sciences, Caltech, Pasadena, CA 91125.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2025 Jul 8;122(27):e2500940122. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2500940122. Epub 2025 Jun 27.
A long-standing fundamental open problem in mathematical fluid dynamics and nonlinear partial differential equations is to determine whether solutions of the 3D incompressible Euler equations can develop a finite-time singularity from smooth, finite-energy initial data. Leonhard Euler introduced these equations in 1757 [L. Euler, , 274-315 (1757).], and they are closely linked to the Navier-Stokes equations and turbulence. While the general singularity formation problem remains unresolved, we review a recent computer-assisted proof of finite-time, nearly self-similar blowup for the 2D Boussinesq and 3D axisymmetric Euler equations in a smooth bounded domain with smooth initial data. The proof introduces a framework for (nearly) self-similar blowup, demonstrating the nonlinear stability of an approximate self-similar profile constructed numerically via the dynamical rescaling formulation.