We study the three-dimensional Dirac and Klein-Gordon equations with scalar and vector potentials of equal magnitudes as an attempt to give a proper physical interpretation of this class of problems which has recently been accumulating interest. We consider a large class of these problems in which the potentials are noncentral (angular-dependent) such that the equations separate completely in spherical coordinates. The relativistic energy spectra are obtained and shown to differ from those of well-known problems that have the same nonrelativistic limit. Consequently, such problems should not be misinterpreted as the relativistic extension of the given potentials despite the fact that the nonrelativistic limit is the same. The Coulomb, Oscillator and Hartmann potentials are considered. This shows that although the nonrelativistic limit is well-defined and unique, the relativistic extension is not. Additionally, we investigate the Klein-Gordon equation with uneven mix of potentials leading to the correct relativistic extension. We consider the case of spherically symmetric exponential-type potentials resulting in the s-wave Klein-Gordon-Morse problem.

We formulate an algebraic relativistic method of scattering for systems with spatially dependent mass based on the J-matrix method. The reference Hamiltonian is the threedimensional Dirac Hamiltonian but with a mass that is position-dependent and having a constant asymptotic limit. Additionally, this effective mass distribution is locally represented in a finite dimensional function subspace. The spinor couples to spherically symmetric vector and pseudo scalar potentials that are short-range such that they are accurately represented by their matrix elements in the same finite dimensional subspace. We calculate the relativistic phase shift as a function of energy for a given configuration and study the effect of spatial variation of the mass on the energy resonance structure.