A second look at the Rarita–Schwinger theory

Abstract

This is an alternative version of the Rarita–Schwinger theory and a demonstration of some possibilities of generalizing the usual spin-3/2 description. The main result of this article follows from the redefinition of the Hermiticity condition and the space inversion symmetry. The version has been motivated by the understanding that a spin-3/2 particle is a phenomenon of nature by itself and therefore cannot be looked upon as composed by spin-1/2 and spin-1 particles. Hence, the spin-3/2 particle will not be subjected to the symmetry properties of spin-1/2 particle. If the standpoint mentioned above was admitted, then the Rarita–Schwinger spin-3/2 equation would be equivalent to the whole class of the Bhabha-type equations.