Equations governing the energy-momentum tensor of a system of charged particles

Abstract

In this paper the equations governing the energy, momentum, and angular momentum of a system of charged particles in motion are obtained as a series in inverse powers of c. The mass motion and time-symmetric part of the retarded electromagnetic field are shown to contribute to these equations a total time derivative which is an even power series in c −1. The radiation-reaction terms of O( c −5) are evaluated and discussed as a prototype for higher order, odd power terms in the asymptotic expansions of the equations.