Hamiltonian formulation of a gauge-invariant massive spin-(3/2 theory

Abstract

A gauge-invariant theory describing a free massive spin-(3/2 particle, obtained previously by dimensional reduction of a massless theory, is quantized using Diracs procedure. The quantum theory is shown to be free from negative-norm states despite the absence of constraints obtained from differentiating the Lagrangian equations of motion (i.e., secondary constraints. This is in direct contrast to all other half-integral-spin theories avoiding secondary constraints, which invariably have indefinite metric. © 1988 The American Physical Society.