On Recent Progress for the Stochastic Navier Stokes Equations

We give an overview of the ideas central to some recent developments in the ergodic theory of the stochastically forced Navier Stokes equations and other dissipative stochastic partial differential equations. Since our desire is to make the core ideas clear, we will mostly work with a specific example: the stochastically forced Navier Stokes equations. To further clarify ideas, we will also examine in detail a toy problem. A few general theorems are given. Spatial regularity, ergodicity, exponential mixing, coupling for a SPDE, and hypoellipticity are all discussed. This article attempts to collect a number of ideas which have proven useful in the study of stochastically forced dissipative partial differential equations. The discussion will center around those of ergodicity but will also touch on the regularity of both solutions and transition densities. Since our desire is to make the core ideas clear, we will mostly work with a specific example: the stochastically forced Navier Stokes equations. To further clarify ideas, we will also examine in detail a toy problem. Though we have not tried to give any great generality, we also present a number of abstract results to help isolate what assumptions are used in which arguments. Though a few results are presented in new ways and a number of proofs are streamlined, the core ideas remain more or less the same as in the originally cited papers. We do improve sightly the exponential mixing results given in [Mat02c]; however, the techniques used are the same. Lastly, we do not claim to be exhaustive. This is not meant to be an all encompassing review article. The view point given here is a personal one; nonetheless, citations are given to good starting points for related works both by the author and others. Consider the two-dimensional Navier-Stokes equation with stochastic forcing:    ∂u ∂t + (u · ∇)u +∇P = ν∆u + ∂W (x, t) ∂t ∇ · u = 0 . (1) MSC 2000 : 58G98 35K99