Motion in classical field theories and the foundations of the self-force problem

DOI10.1007/978-3-319-18335-0_12MaRDI QIDQ2804114zbMATH OpenOpenAlexWikidataFDO

Authors Abraham I. Harte

Publication date 27 April 2016

Published in Fundamental Theories of Physics (Search for Journal in Brave)

Full work available at URL https://arxiv.org/abs/1405.5077

zbMATH Keywords

classical field theoriesproblem of motion

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Equations of motion in general relativity and gravitational theory (83C10) Approximation procedures, weak fields in general relativity and gravitational theory (83C25) Research exposition (monographs, survey articles) pertaining to relativity and gravitational theory (83-02)

Abstract: This article serves as a pedagogical introduction to the problem of motion in classical field theories. The primary focus is on self-interaction: How does an object's own field affect its motion? General laws governing the self-force and self-torque are derived using simple, non-perturbative arguments. The relevant concepts are developed gradually by considering motion in a series of increasingly complicated theories. Newtonian gravity is discussed first, then Klein-Gordon theory, electromagnetism, and finally general relativity. Linear and angular momenta as well as centers of mass are defined in each of these cases. Multipole expansions for the force and torque are then derived to all orders for arbitrarily self-interacting extended objects. These expansions are found to be structurally identical to the laws of motion satisfied by extended test bodies, except that all relevant fields are replaced by effective versions which exclude the self-fields in a particular sense. Regularization methods traditionally associated with self-interacting point particles arise as straightforward perturbative limits of these (more fundamental) results. Additionally, generic mechanisms are discussed which dynamically shift --- i.e., renormalize --- the apparent multipole moments associated with self-interacting extended bodies. Although this is primarily a synthesis of earlier work, several new results and interpretations are included as well.

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