Covariant equations for the three-body bound state

The covariant spectator (or Gross) equations for the bound state of three identical spin 1/2 particles, in which two of the three interacting particles are always on shell, are developed and reduced to a form suitable for numerical solution. The equations are first written in operator form and compared to the Bethe-Salpeter equation, then expanded into plane wave momentum states, and finally expanded into partial waves using the three-body helicity formalism first introduced by Wick. In order to solve the equations, the twobody scattering amplitudes must be boosted from the overall three-body rest frame to their individual two-body rest frames, and all effects which arise from these boosts, including the Wigner rotations and ρ-spin decomposition of the off-shell particle, are treated exactly . In their final form, the equations reduce to a coupled set of Faddeev-like double integral equations with additional channels arising from the negative ρ-spin states of the off-shell particle. 21.45+v, 11.10.St, 21.10.Dr Typeset using REVTEX