The propagation properties of spin degrees of freedom are analyzed in the framework of relativistic hydrodynamics with spin based on the de Groot--van Leeuwen--van Weert definitions of the energy-momentum and spin tensors. We derive the analytical expression for the spin wave velocity for arbitrary statistics and show that it goes to half the speed of light in the ultra-relativistic limit. We find that only the transverse degrees of freedom propagate, analogously to electromagnetic waves. Finally, we consider the effect of dissipative corrections and calculate the damping coefficients for the case of Maxwell-Jüttner statistics.

11 pages; 3 captioned figures; published version