Small Treatise on Spin-3/2 Fields and their Dual Spectral Functions

Abstract

In this work we systematically study various aspects of spin-3/2 fields in a curved background. We mostly focus on a minimally coupled massive spin-3/2 field in arbitrary dimensions, and solve the equation of motion either explicitly or numerically in AdS, Schwarzschild-AdS and Reissner-Nordstr\"om-AdS backgrounds. Although not the main focus of this work, we also make a connection with the gravitino equation of motion in gauged supergravity. Motivated by the AdS/CFT correspondence, we emphasize calculational improvements and technical details of the dual spectral functions. We attempt to provide a coherent and comprehensive picture of the existing literature.