Fermions tunneling from apparent horizon of FRW universe

In the paper [R.-G. Cai, L.-M. Cao, Y.-P. Hu, arXiv: 0809.1554], the scalar particles' Hawking radiation from the apparent horizon of Friedmann-Robertson-Walker (FRW) universe was investigated by using the tunneling formalism. They obtained the Hawking temperature associated with the apparent horizon, which was extensively applied in investigating the relationship between the first law of thermodynamics and Friedmann equations. In this Letter, we calculate fermions' Hawking radiation from the apparent horizon of FRW universe via tunneling formalism. Applying WKB approximation to the general covariant Dirac equation in FRW spacetime background, the radiation spectrum and Hawking temperature of apparent horizon are correctly recovered, which supports the arguments presented in the paper [R.-G. Cai, L.-M. Cao, Y.-P. Hu, arXiv: 0809.1554]. Crown Copyright (c) 2008 Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.