The massive Dirac field on a rotating black hole spacetime: Angular solutions

Abstract

The massive Dirac equation on a Kerr-Newman background may be solved by the method of separation of variables. The radial and angular equations are coupled via an angular eigenvalue, which is determined from the Chandrasekhar-Page (CP) equation. Obtaining accurate angular eigenvalues is a key step in studying scattering, absorption and emission of the fermionic field. Here we introduce a new method for finding solutions of the CP equation. First, we introduce a novel representation for the spin-half spherical harmonics. Next, we decompose the angular solutions of the CP equation (the mass-dependent spin-half spheroidal harmonics) in the spherical basis. The method yields a three-term recurrence relation which may be solved numerically via continued-fraction methods, or perturbatively to obtain a series expansion for the eigenvalues. In the case $\mu = \pm \omega$ (where $\omega$ and $\mu$ are the frequency and mass of the fermion) we obtain eigenvalues and eigenfunctions in closed form. We study the eigenvalue spectrum, and the zeros of the maximally co-rotating mode. We compare our results with previous studies, and uncover and correct some errors in the literature. We provide series expansions, tables of eigenvalues and numerical fits across a wide parameter range, and present plots of a selection of eigenfunctions. It is hoped this study will be a useful resource for all researchers interested in the Dirac equation on a rotating black hole background.