Is there a consistent theory of large-amplitude collective motion?

Villars's equations, first derived from the adiabatic limit of time-dependent Hartree-Fock theory, are presented here as a set of exact conditions for the decoupling (in the adiabatic limit) of a subsystem from a classical Hamiltonian system. It is emphasized that these equations do not incorporate all the required decoupling conditions. By combining the additional requirements with Villars's equations, we obtain a mathematically complete system, which will yield exact solutions where such exist, but which can also be applied to cases of approximate decoupling.