Generalized Instantaneous Bethe-Salpeter Equation and Exact Quark Propagators

A three-dimensional reduction of the homogeneous Bethe-Salpeter equation retaining, in contrast to the Salpeter equation, the exact propagators (crucial for, e.g., a proper incorporation of dynamical chiral symmetry breakdown) is proposed. This formalism may be easily extended to Bethe-Salpeter equations for bound states composed of particles that are not, or not all, identical to spin-1/2 fermions as well as to three-dimensional reductions of the Bethe-Salpeter equation different from Salpeter's equation.