Strong Solutions of the Navier–Stokes Equations for Nonhomogeneous Incompressible Fluids

Abstract We study strong solutions of the Navier–Stokes equations for nonhomogeneous incompressible fluids in Ω ⊂ R 3. Deriving higher a priori estimates independent of the lower bounds of the density, we prove the existence and uniqueness of local strong solutions to the initial value problem (for Ω =R 3) or the initial boundary value problem (for Ω ⊂ ⊂ R 3) even though the initial density vanishes in an open subset of Ω, i.e., an initial vacuum exists. As an immediate consequence of the a priori estimates, we obtain a continuation theorem for the local strong solutions.