Exact Beltrami flows in a spherical shell

Abstract

Exact flows of an incompressible fluid satisfying the Beltrami equation inside a spherical shell are constructed in the Cartesian coordinates in terms of elementary functions. Two scale-invariant equations defining two infinite series of eigenvalues λ n and λ̃m${\tilde {\lambda }}_{m}$ of the operator curl in the shell with the nonpenetration boundary conditions on the boundary spheres are derived. The corresponding eigenfields are presented in explicit form and their symmetries are investigated. Asymptotics of the eigenvalues λ n and λ̃m${\tilde {\lambda }}_{m}$ at n , m → ∞ are obtained.