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To hold sphere 2 fixed against the incident angular velocity from part ii, its applied couple must generate the bare rotationThe resulting rotlet advects the force-free sphere 1. Since the field is harmonic, Faxén's first law gives

The returned rotlet has velocity $O(\Omega a^6/R^5)$ and rate of strain $O(\Omega a^6/R^6)$ at sphere 1. That strain induces a stresslet of strength $O(\mu \Omega a^9/R^6)$, whose velocity at sphere 2 is $O(\Omega a^9/R^8)$. This method of reflections for Stokes flow gives the stated order of the next correction to ${\mathbf{U}}_2$.

Write $\mathbf{\Omega }={\mathbf{G}}_1/(8\pi \mu a^3)$. The incident rotlet of sphere 1 at sphere 2 isand it is harmonic away from sphere 1. Since sphere 2 is force-free, Faxén's first law therefore givesThe vorticity of the rotlet isBecause ${\mathbf{G}}_2=0$, Faxén's rotational law gives

The symmetric rate-of-strain tensor of the incident rotlet at sphere 2 isAfter translation and rotation have matched the uniform and antisymmetric parts of the incident flow, the leading perturbation from sphere 2 is the stresslet part of the supplied straining-sphere solution:Part b gives its vorticity asAt the centre of sphere 1, $\mathbf{x}=-\mathbf{R}$, soApplying Faxén's rotational law to sphere 1 produces half this ambient vorticity and proves

To the requested order, sphere 1 has velocity $\mathbf{V}$ and creates the translating-sphere field from part a. At the centre of sphere 2, a vector distance $\mathbf{R}$ away, this incident field isSphere 2 is force free, so Faxén's first law givesThe source-dipole term is harmonic, whileThereforeThis is the two-sphere Rotne--Prager mobility through order $a^3/R^3$.

The incident strain at sphere 2 is $O(Va/R^2)$. A force-free sphere in this strain creates a stresslet of size $O(\mu a^{3}Va/R^2)=O(\mu V{a}^4/R^2)$, whose velocity back at sphere 1 is $O(V{a}^4/R^4)$. HenceThe nearly uniform returned flow merely advects sphere 1 and does not change its fixed Stokeslet strength, because its applied force remains fixed. The next scattered disturbance is therefore generated by the returned velocity gradient, of order $V{a}^4/R^5$. It induces a stresslet of size $O(\mu V{a}^7/R^5)$ at sphere 1 and hence velocity $O(V{a}^7/R^7)$ at sphere 2. This method of reflections for Stokes flow explains both the absence of an $O(V{a}^5/R^5)$ term and the next order $O(V{a}^7/R^7)$.