An Anisotropic Onsager Criterion for the Two-Dimensional Navier--Stokes Equations with Horizontal Viscosity

Abstract: We consider distributional weak solutions $u\in L<sup>\infty_tL<sup>2_x$ of the two-dimensional Navier--Stokes equations with horizontal viscosity on $\mathbb T<sup>2$ or $\mathbb R<sup>2$, without assuming $\partial_1u\in L<sup>2_tL<sup>2_x$. We show that the Lions integrability condition $u\in L<sup>4_tL<sup>4_x$ together with Onsager-critical regularity in the nondissipative direction, $u\in L<sup>3_tB<sup>{1/3,v}_{3,\infty}$ with the Besov regularity imposed only in the vertical direction, implies $\partial_1u\in L<sup>2_tL<sup>2_x$, with a quantitative bound on the horizontal dissipation. Thus the dissipative regularity is a consequence of the equation and need not be part of the definition of the solution. If moreover $u\in L<sup>3_tB<sup>{1/3,v}_{3,c_0}$, then $u$ belongs to the isotropic critical Onsager space $L<sup>3_tB<sup>{1/3}_{3,c_0}$, satisfies the energy equality, and is continuous in $L<sup>2$. Here $c_0$ indicates that the corresponding dyadic Besov sequence tends to zero at high frequencies. The proof combines absorption of the horizontal energy flux into the dissipation with a one-dimensional commutator estimate for the vertical energy flux.