Adiabatic limit for the Maxwell-Lorentz equations (Q1586434)

This paper concerns the Abraham model for a rigid charge distribution coupled to an electromagnetic field subject to slowly varying external potentials. It is shown that in the adiabatic time limit the motion of the charged particles is governed by an effective Hamiltonian. To second-order it is necessary to add a small correction to the relativistically covariant radiation reaction, while to third-order the equation has a repulsive center manifold for which the true solution can be approximated by a trajectory on the center manifold. One surprising result obtained in the paper is that the radiation reaction appears only to depend on the total charge and not on its distribution.