Relativistic bound-state equations for fermions with instantaneous interactions

Three types of relativistic bound-state equations for a fermion pair with instantaneous interaction are studied, viz., the instantaneous Bethe-Salpeter equation, the quasi-potential equation, and the two-particle Dirac equation. General forms for the equations describing bound states with arbitrary spin, parity, and charge parity are derived. For the special case of spinless states bound by interactions with a Coulomb-type potential the properties of the ground-state solutions of the three equations are investigated both analytically and numerically. The coupling-constant spectrum turns out to depend strongly on the spinor structure of the fermion interaction. If the latter is chosen such that the nonrelativistic limits of the equations coincide, an analogous spectrum is found for the instantaneous Bethe-Salpeter and the quasi-potential equations, whereas the two-particle Dirac equation yields qualitatively different results