  We use invariant manifold results on Banach spaces to conclude the existence
of spectral submanifolds (SSMs) in a class of nonlinear, externally forced beam
oscillations. SSMs are the smoothest nonlinear extensions of spectral subspaces
of the linearized beam equation. Reduction of the governing PDE to SSMs
provides an explicit low-dimensional model which captures the correct
asymptotics of the full, infinite-dimensional dynamics. Our approach is general
enough to admit extensions to other types of continuum vibrations. The
model-reduction procedure we employ also gives guidelines for a mathematically
self-consistent modeling of damping in PDEs describing structural vibrations.
