Finite dimensional reduction and convergence to equilibrium for incompressible Smectic-A liquid crystal flows

Abstract: We consider a hydrodynamic system that models the Smectic-A liquid crystal flow. The model consists of the Navier-Stokes equation for the fluid velocity coupled with a fourth-order equation for the layer variable $\vp$, endowed with periodic boundary conditions. We analyze the long-time behavior of the solutions within the theory of infinite-dimensional dissipative dynamical systems. We first prove that in 2D, the problem possesses a global attractor $\mathcal{A}$ in certain phase space. Then we establish the existence of an exponential attractor $\mathcal{M}$ which entails that the global attractor $\mathcal{A}$ has finite fractal dimension. Moreover, we show that each trajectory converges to a single equilibrium by means of a suitable Lojasiewicz--Simon inequality. Corresponding results in 3D are also discussed.