Transverse distributions of the energy-momentum tensor for a spin-$3/2$ baryon

Abstract

We develop a multipole description of transverse distributions of the energy-momentum tensor for a spin-$3/2$ baryon in frames connected by a longitudinal boost. In the transverse Breit frame, the $T^{00}$, $T^{03}$, and $T^{33}$ matrix elements are expressed through seven multipole form factors for energy, angular momentum, and stress. At finite longitudinal momentum, we factorize the Lorentz mixing of these three components from the spin-$3/2$ Wigner rotations of the external states. The resulting elastic-frame matrix elements contain six transverse multipoles, whose Fourier transforms define the distributions of energy, longitudinal momentum, and longitudinal momentum flux. We also calculate $T^{++}$, $T^{+-}$, and $T^{--}$ directly with light-front Rarita-Schwinger spinors. The elastic-frame construction provides a continuous interpolation from the transverse Breit frame to the infinite-momentum frame. In this limit, the Wigner rotation becomes the Melosh rotation, and the leading elastic-frame matrix elements reproduce the corresponding light-front results. Using the $Δ$-baryon gravitational form factors obtained in the Skyrme model as a representative numerical input, we find that the energy distribution is dominated by the energy monopole defined in the transverse Breit frame and changes only weakly under longitudinal boosts. Through boost mixing, this monopole provides the dominant contribution to the longitudinal momentum distribution and its flux at finite $P_z$. For a longitudinally polarized spin-$3/2$ target, the distributions contain only the monopole contributions, whereas those of a transversely polarized target exhibit spin-dependent quadrupole and octupole deformations and a dipole that shifts their maxima.