STRING RADIATIVE BACKREACTION

We discuss radiative backreaction for global strings described by the Kalb-Ramond action with an analogous derivation to that for the point electron in classical electrodynamics. We show how local corrections to the equations of motion allow one to separate the self-field of the string from that of the radiation field. Modifications to this ''local backreaction approximation'' circumvent the runaway solutions, allowing these corrections to be used to evolve string trajectories numerically. Comparisons are made with analytic and numerical radiation calculations from previous work and the merits and limitations of this approach are discussed.