Component Minimization of the Bargmann?Wigner Wavefunction

Abstract

The Bargmann-Wigner equations are used to derive relativistic field equations with only 2(2j+ 1) components of the original wavefunction. The other components of the Bargmann-Wigner wavefunction are superfluous and can be defined in terms of the 2(2j+ 1) components. The results are compared with various 2(2j+ 1) theories in the literature. Sylvester's theorem and some properties of induced matrices give simple relationships between the operator matrices of the field equations and the arbitrary spin operator matrices.