The field theory two-body problem in acoustics

Abstract

We address the problem of determining effective equations of motion for sources in field theories, where finite propagation speeds lead to radiation reaction and runaway solutions. Acoustics is used to illustrate a solution of this problem: The effective equation of motion is obtained by reduction to an inertial manifold. This equation can be approximated to any desired accuracy by expansion (and truncation) in powers of the reciprocal of the wave propagation speed and reduction to a slow manifold of a singular perturbation problem.