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A simple method for calculating ClebschGordan coefficients

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2010 Eur. J. Phys. 31 1021
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IOP PUBLISHING

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICS

Eur. J. Phys. 31 (2010) 10211030

doi:10.1088/0143-0807/31/5/004

A simple method for calculating

ClebschGordan coefficients
W H Klink1 and S Wickramasekara1,2
1
2

Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
Department of Physics, Grinnell College, Grinnell, IA 50112, USA

E-mail: william-klink@uiowa.edu, wickrama@grinnell.edu and s-wickram@uiowa.edu

Received 30 May 2010

Published 9 July 2010
Online at stacks.iop.org/EJP/31/1021
Abstract

This paper presents a simple method for calculating ClebschGordan

coefficients for the tensor product of two unitary irreducible representations
(UIRs) of the rotation group. The method also works for multiplicity-free
irreducible representations appearing in the tensor product of any number
of UIRs of the rotation group. The generalization to representations with
multiplicity is straightforward and briefly discussed.

1. Introduction

Addition of angular momenta poses both conceptual and calculational difficulties for many
undergraduates taking upper level courses in quantum theory. While students do not
particularly have trouble with deducing the eigenvalue spectrum of the total magnetic angular
momentum for the combined system, many find it difficult to work through the line of reasoning
leading to the spectrum of the square of the total angular momentum. Particularly challenging
is the problem of determining the state vectors with definite total angular momentum values
as linear combinations of the tensor product vectors of the constituent states. In fact, many
widely used undergraduate textbooks [1, 2] focus on special cases such as the contribution
of the spinorbit or spinspin interactions to the ground-state energy of the hydrogen atom,
rather than the general problem. Even the treatments found in graduate-level texts, though
thorough, are often not transparent with regard to the underlying logical reasoning; they also
generally require a level of sophistication rather uncommon among undergraduates.
The purpose of this paper is to present a simple solution to the addition of angular
momentum problem that is rigorous and accessible to undergraduates. It can be summarized
as follows: for each m from the spectrum of the total magnetic angular momentum quantum
number, write down the coupled (direct sum) state vector |j = m, m as a linear combination
of all the uncoupled (tensor product) states |j1 , m1  |j2 , m2 , subject to m = m1 + m2 and
with unknown coefficients. Apply the raising operator J+ to the linear combination of tensor
c 2010 IOP Publishing Ltd Printed in the UK & the USA
0143-0807/10/051021+10$30.00 

1021

1022

W H Klink and S Wickramasekara

product vectors and use the requirement J+ |j = m, m = 0 to obtain a set of coupled linear
equations for the unknown coefficients. Solve these equations to readily determine, up to an
overall phase factor, the ClebschGordan coefficients for the highest weight state |j = m, m.
(If only the trivial solution exists, i.e. all coefficients are zero, then the chosen m value is not
in the spectrum of total angular momentum j .) Once the highest weight state |j = m, m
has been established, apply the lowering operator J repeatedly to obtain other states of the
multiplet with the same j -value.
The main difficulty with the standard method is that ClebschGordan coefficients are
computed recursively, starting with the highest (or lowest) weight state with j = j1 + j2 . In
order to determine state vectors for the states with lower j -values, orthogonality with states of
higher values is used. For instance, orthogonality of the state j = j1 + j2 1, m = j1 + j2 1
with the state j = j1 + j2 , m = j1 + j2 1 is invoked to determine the ClebschGordan
coefficients for the former, after those of the latter have been determined by applying the
lowering operator J to the state j = j1 + j2 , m = j1 + j2 . The dependence of the Clebsch
Gordan coefficients for a given j on all the higher values j +1, . . . , j1 +j2 makes the procedure
cumbersome. Although a closed-form formula can be derived for arbitrary (j, m) [3], it not
very useful in many practical calculations.
In contrast, the method presented here does not rely on recursive relations and provides
a means of directly determining the ClebschGordan coefficients for any total angular
momentum quantum number j that appears with multiplicity 1, without having to start with
the j = j1 + j2 case and work down to the given value of j . Thus, the method provides an
easy and complete solution to the problem of combining two systems with definite spin values.
When there are three or more systems with definite spin values, the method can be used to
determine both the multiplicity of each irreducible representation (i.e. the number of times a
given value of j occurs) and the ClebschGordan coefficients for multiplicity-free states. For
instance, as shown below, when combining three spin-1 systems, the state with total spin 0 can
be readily obtained without having to worry about the details of the reduction for total spin 1
or higher states. In essence, what is proposed here a simultaneous coupling scheme, where
each total angular momentum quantum number j is handled independently. The method leads
to a great simplification for an n-fold tensor product in that it allows for all n-states to be
reduced simultaneously. In contrast, in the conventional method, which can be described as a
stepwise coupling scheme, the coupling is done two states at a time. Hence, the advantage
of the method proposed here increases dramatically with increasing n.
The organization of the paper is as follows: in the next section, a brief review of the wellknown mathematics of the addition of angular momentum is given, along with a statement
of the problem. In section 3, the solution to the problem is given and a few examples are
discussed. Generalization of the results to the reduction of three spin-1 systems is briefly
discussed in section 4.
2. Addition of angular momentum: preliminaries

The solution to the eigenvalue problem for the algebra of angular momentum is well known
and can be stated in the Dirac notation (with h
= 1) as
j = 0, 1/2, 1, . . .
J 2 |j, m = j (j + 1)|j, m,
(2.1)
J3 |j, m = m|j, m,
m = j, j + 1, . . . , j 1, j.
While no element of the algebra spanned by Ji maps a state vector |j, m to another with a
different value of j , the raising and lowering operators,
J = J1 iJ2 ,
(2.2)

A simple method for calculating ClebschGordan coefficients

map it to |j, m 1:

J |j, m =

1023


(j (j + 1) m(m 1)|j, m 1.

(2.3)

For a fixed value of j , the orthonormal vectors |j, m span a (2j + 1)-dimensional vector
space, denoted here by j . The square of the angular momentum J 2 is proportional to
the identity operator in j : J 2 = j (j + 1)I . In group theoretical language, j is said to
furnish a unitary irreducible representation (UIR) of the rotation group SU (2). Recall that a
representation is irreducible if there exists no proper subspace that remains invariant under all
of the group operators or equivalently under the action of all the generators.
It is an axiom of quantum physics that if a system is the combination of two subsystems,
then the state space of the combined system is the tensor product of the state spaces of the
subsystems. Thus, the combined state space of two systems with the angular momentum
quantum numbers j 1 and j 2 is  = j1 j2 . The angular momentum operators acting on
 are
Ji = Ji(1) I (2) + I (1) Ji(2) .

(2.4)
j1

The notation is such that an operator carrying the superscript (1) or (2) acts on  or j2 ,
respectively, while product operators such as A(1) B (2) act on the tensor product space
j1 j2 . I (i) refers to the identity operator in the space ji . It is straightforward to verify
that (2.4) satisfy the characteristic commutation relations of angular momentum operators.
A basis for the tensor product space  = j1 j2 can be chosen to consist of
|j1 m1  |j2 m2 , the tensor product of bases for j1 and j2 . For notational economy,
these product vectors are denoted simply by |j1 m1 j2 m2 , or since j 1 and j 2 remain fixed, by
the even more compact notation
|j1 m1  |j2 m2  |j1 m1 , j2 m2  |m1 , m2 

(2.5)

with m1 = j1 , j1 + 1, . . . , j1 1, j1 and m2 = j2 , j2 + 1, . . . , j2 1, j2 . These vectors

are eigenvectors of the complete system of commuting operators (CSCO)
2

J (1) I (2) ,

I (1) J (2) ,

J3(1) I (2)

and

I (1) J3(2) .

(2.6)

Note that vectors (2.5) are also eigenvectors of J3, the 3-component of total angular momentum:


(2.7)
J3 |m1 , m2  = J3(1) I (2) + I (1) J3(2) |m1 , m2  = (m1 + m2 )|m1 , m2 .
The basis vectors (2.5) and the corresponding CSCO (2.6) are often not physical in the
sense that the Hamiltonian does not commute with all operators of (2.6). This is the case,
for instance, when the Hamiltonian contains an interaction between the angular momentum
operators of the two subsystems. The spinorbit interactions and spinspin interactions of the
hydrogen atom involving terms such as Lp S e and S p S e are examples. The physical
operators in such situations are the total angular momenta defined by (2.4) and the algebra
spanned by them, including, in particular, the square of the total angular momentum operator
J2

3


Ji2 =

i=1

3

 (1)
2
Ji I (2) + I (1) Ji(2) .

(2.8)

i=1

Therefore, instead of (2.6), a new CSCO,

J 2,

J3 ,

J (1) I (2) ,
2

I (1) J (2) ,

(2.9)

may be be chosen. Here, J and J3 are as defined in (2.8) and (2.4), respectively.
The task at hand is to solve the eigenvalue problem for the CSCO (2.9) and establish the
relationship between the eigenvectors of (2.9) and those of (2.6). In fact, this is what is meant
by the addition of angular momentum in quantum physics. As noted above, the Hamiltonian

1024

W H Klink and S Wickramasekara

can often be included to expand (2.9) to a physically meaningful CSCO, while this is not the
case for (2.6).
Since operators (2.4) satisfy the commutation relations of angular momentum, the solution
to the eigenvalue problem for (2.9) must be of the form (2.1). Furthermore, for purposes of
easy differentiation between the eigenvectors of (2.6) and those of (2.9), the symbol |j, m}
will be used for the latter. This emphasizes the difference between the tensor product basis
vectors and basis vectors for the total angular momentum operators. Thus,
J 2 |j, m} = j (j + 1)|j, m},

J3 |j, m} = m|j, m}.

(2.10)

Further, the action of raising and lowering operators

J = J1 iJ2 = J(1) I (2) + I (1) J(2)
on (2.10) must be of the same form as (2.3):

J |j, m} = j (j + 1) m(m 1)|j, m 1}.

(2.11)
(2.12)

For a given value of j , m must vary between j and j in integer steps. Therefore, it is
only necessary to determine the possible values of j (in terms of j 1 and j 2) in (2.10). Unlike
2
j1 and j2 , which carry irreducible representations of the rotation group and in which J (1)
2
and J (2) are proportional to the identity, the tensor product space  does not in general
furnish an irreducible representation, and therewith, the square of the total spin operator J 2 is
not proportional to the identity. In other words, j in (2.10) varies over a range of values. For
each such value of j , the linear span of vectors |j, m}, m = j, j + 1, . . . , j 1, j , does
define an irreducible representation space j . The tensor product space  is the direct sum
of these j :

j .
(2.13)
 = j1 j2 =
j

The problem of determining the spectrum of j and the expansion of the eigenvectors |j, m} in
terms of |m1 , m2  is the subject of the next section.
3. Calculation of ClebschGordan coefficients for SU (2)

Since |j, m} and |m1 , m2  are two bases for the vector space , they can be expanded with
respect to one another:
|j, m} =

j1


j2


|m1 , m2 m1 , m2 |j, m}

(3.1)

m1 =j1 m2 =j2

|m1 , m2  =

j
 
j

|j, m}{j, m|m1 , m2 .

(3.2)

m=j

The expansion coefficients m1 , m2 |j, m} are called ClebschGordan coefficients or Wigner
coefficients. The values of j and m for which these coefficients do not vanish determine
the spectra of J 2 and J3. Various treatments of how ClebschGordan coefficients may be
determined, along with tables of their values for various angular momentum quantum numbers
j 1 and j 2, can be found in classic monographs on angular momentum such as [4, 5] and many
textbooks on quantum mechanics. For instance, see [3, 69]. The method presented here
is simpler than the standard approaches and also rather easily generalizes to other compact
groups.

A simple method for calculating ClebschGordan coefficients

Note first that m1 , m2 |j, m} vanish when m = m1 + m2 .

m1 , m2 |J3 |j, m}. From (2.10) and (2.7),

1025

To see this, consider

mm1 , m2 |j, m} = m1 , m2 |J3 |j, m} = (m1 + m2 )m1 , m2 |j, m}.

(3.3)

Therefore, the spectrum of J3 varies over all possible values of m1 + m2 and only these:
m = j1 + j2 , j1 + j2 1, . . . , j1 j2 + 1, j1 j2 .

(3.4)

On the other hand, m must vary between j and j for each possible value of j . This means
that the spectrum of j must also belong to (3.4). In particular, since the maximum value of
m is j1 + j2 , the maximum value of j is also j1 + j2 . Furthermore, because j is non-negative,
obviously the spectrum of j is smaller than the set (3.4). However, as will be shortly seen, the
spectrum of j is in fact generally smaller than even the non-negative part of (3.4).
The following four steps W1W4 constitute the proposed simultaneous coupling scheme
for the rotation group. The first three simple steps W1W3 determine the spectrum of j and
the ClebschGordan coefficients. For the sake of definiteness, without loss of generality, let
j1  j2 . Parallel to the general discussion, the special case j1 = 5/2 and j2 = 1 is also
considered as an example. The last step W4 describes how the multiplicity of an irreducible
representation in a multifold tensor product may be determined.
W1. Consider a particular value of m from the set (3.4). Note that it is sufficient to work with
only non-negative values of m as the results for the negative values can be obtained by
the repeated application of the lowering operator J of (2.11). For a fixed non-negative
value of m, the possible values of j are
j = m, m + 1, m + 2, . . . .

(3.5)

It is sufficient to consider the j = m case. The state vector |j = m, m} is referred to as

the highest weight state. According to (3.3), |j = m, m} must be a linear combination
of all tensor product states |m1 , m2  with m = m1 + m2 . Thus,
|j = m, m} = a1 |m1 , m m1  + a2 |m1 1, m (m1 1) + ,

(3.6)

where ai are the constants, |m1 |  j1 and |m m1 |  j2 .

Turning to the example of j1 = 5/2 and j2 = 1, the spectrum of m1 is
m1 = 5/2, 3/2, 1/2, 1/2, 3/2, 5/2 and the spectrum of m2 is m2 = 1, 0, 1,
implying that the spectrum of m = m1 + m2 is
m = 7/2, 5/2, 3/2, 1/2, 1/2, 3/2, 5/2, 7/2.
For each of the four positive values, (3.6) acquires the form

 

5
7 7
 ,1
 ,
=
2
2 2






5 5
5
3
 ,


=
a
,
0
+
a
,
1
1
2
2 2
2
2








3 3
5
3
1
 ,



=
a
,
1
+
a
,
0
+
a
,
1
3
4
5
2 2
2
2
2








1 1
3
1
 1
 ,




=
a
,
1
+
a
,
0
+
a
,
1
6
7
8
2 2
2
2
2

(3.7)

(3.8)
(3.9)
(3.10)
(3.11)

1026

W H Klink and S Wickramasekara

W2. Next, apply the raising operator of (2.11) to (3.6). From (2.12), note that |j = m, m}
must be mapped to the zero vector by J+ . Therefore,
0 = a1 J+ |m1 , m m1  + a2 J+ |m1 1, m (m1 1) +

= a1 j1 (j1 + 1) m1 (m1 + 1)|m1 + 1, m m1 

+ a1 j2 (j2 + 1) (m m1 )(m m1 + 1)|m1 , m m1 + 1 + ,

(3.12)

where the right-hand sides of (2.11) and (2.3) have been used to obtain the second
equality. Since |m1 , m2  are linearly independent, (3.12) gives a set of coupled linear
algebraic equations that can be easily solved, along with the normalization requirement
{j = m, m|j = m, m} = 1, to determine, up to a phase factor, the coefficients ai. These
are the ClebschGordan coefficients for the j = m case. The expansion of the other
vectors belonging to this j -value, |j = m, m 1}, |j = m, m 2}, . . . , can be obtained
by the repeated application of J .
If the only solution for the ai is the trivial solution ai = 0 for all i, then the case
j = m does not exist. That is, the chosen value of m from the set (3.4) is not in the
spectrum of j . This way, the spectrum of j can be determined.
Returning to the concrete example, the application of J+ to (3.10) gives








5
5
3
3




(3.13)
0 = a3 2 , 0 + a4 5 , 0 + a4 2 , 1 + a5 8 , 1 .
2
2
2
2
Solving for a4 and a5 in terms of a3,

2
1 2
a3 , a5 =
a3 .
a4 =
5
2 5

(3.14)

The overall scaling factor a3 can be determined,up to a phase factor, by normalizing

3 3
 , . Choosing the phase factor to be 1, a3 = 2 . Therewith, (3.10) becomes
2 2
3








3 3
2  3
1  1
2  5
 ,
 2 2 = 3  2 , 1  2 , 0 +  2 , 1 .
15
15

(3.15)

Similarly, a1 and a2 can be determined by applying J+ to (3.9) and normalizing the state.
On the other hand, the application of J+ to (3.11) gives










5
3
1
3
1




(3.16)
0 = a6 5 , 1 + a6 2 , 0 + a7 8 , 0 + a7 2 , 1 + 3a8  , 1 .
2
2
2
2
2
The only solution to (3.16) is the trivial solution a6 = a7 = a8 = 0. Therefore, 12 is
not in the spectrum of j . In general, for any j < j1 j2 , equation (3.12) has only
trivial solutions. This gives the spectrum of total angular momentum quantum number:
j = j1 + j2 , j1 + j2 1, . . . , j1 j2 . Therewith, the direct sum decomposition (2.13)
runs through j1 j2  j  j1 + j2 :


j1 +j2

 = j1 j2 =

j .

(3.17)

j =j1 j2

W3. Once the spectral values of j and the expansion of the states |j = m, m} have been
established, all other states can be obtained by the repeated application of the lowering

A simple method for calculating ClebschGordan coefficients

1027

operator J . Thus, for all values of m for which (3.6) is non-trivial,


J |j = m, m} = m(m + 1) m(m 1)|m, m 1}
= a1 J |m1 , m m1  + a2 J |m1 1, m (m1 1) +

= a1 j1 (j1 + 1) m1 (m1 1)|m1 1, m m1 

+ a1 j2 (j2 + 1) (m m1 )(m m1 1)|m1 , m m1 1 + .

(3.18)

Again, the point can be illustrated with the concrete example j1 = 5/2, j2 = 1. Applying
J once on (3.15) gives








3 1
10  3
32  1
8  3

=
, 1
,0
, 1
3 ,
2 2
3 2
15  2
15  2




3  1
2  1

+
,
1
+
,
0
.
(3.19)
5 2
15  2
Combining similar terms,








3 1
1  1
2  3
2  1
 ,
(3.20)
 2 2 = 5  2 , 1 5  2 , 0 +  2 , 1 .
5
All other states for j = 7/2, 5/2, 3/2 can be determined similarly.
W4. The above procedure can be extended to a multifold tensor product. As in W1, the
procedure starts with determining all possible ways by which the magnetic angular
momentum quantum numbers can be combined to obtain the spectrum of the total
operator J3. An equation identical in form to (3.6) can then be written for the highest
weight states. Applying the raising operator J+ gives a set of linear equations that,
unlike in the twofold tensor product case, is sometimes underdetermined. In such cases,
the difference between the number of unknowns and the number of equations is equal
to the multiplicity of the corresponding irreducible representation.
The above analysis shows that W1W3 constitutes a procedure for obtaining a complete
solution to the problem of adding two angular momentum states. An example involving the
multiplicity described in W4 is given in the next section.
4. Generalizations

The procedure W1W3 given in the preceding section can be generalized to both tensor
products of more than two irreducible representations of the rotation group SU (2) and higher
dimensional symmetry groups such as SU (3). As the latter case is beyond the scope of this
paper, it will not be discussed, aside from a few remarks in the next section. In this section, an
example is considered involving the threefold tensor product of j = 1 representations of the
rotation group, where the ClebschGordan coefficients are not already computed by computer
programs and tabulated.
The direct sum decomposition of the tensor product space  = j1 =1 j2 =1 j3 =1 is
generally obtained by using the result for the twofold tensor product (3.17) twice: decompose
the first two tensor products and repeat the process for the tensor product of the third space
with the irreducible spaces of the decomposition of the first two. That is,
 = (j1 =1 j2 =1 ) j3 =1
2


=
j j =1
j =0

1028

W H Klink and S Wickramasekara

= (j =0 j =1 ) (j =1 j =1 ) (j =2 j =1 )

= (j =1 ) (j =0 j =1 j =2 ) (j =1 j =2 j =3 ).

(4.1)

Note that the j = 2 representation occurs with multiplicity 2, while the j = 1 representation
occurs with multiplicity 3. The spaces j =3 , j =2 , j =1 and j =0 have dimensions
7, 5, 3 and 1, respectively. As a check of (4.1), note also that the dimension of the
tensor product space is equal to the sum of the dimensions of the direct sum spaces:
3 3 3 = 27 = 1 7 + 2 5 + 3 3 + 1 1. For the two cases with multiplicity,
the ClebschGordan coefficients cannot be unambiguously determined. This also means that
computing the ClebschGordan coefficients for the j = 0 representation, which occurs with
multiplicity 1, is difficult using the usual techniques in which one starts with the j = 3
representation and works down to the j = 0 representation via the j = 2 and j = 1
representations.
However, with the procedure W1W3 given above, the ClebschGordan coefficients for
the multiplicity-free representation j = 0 can be readily determined. By W1, the first step is
writing all the possible ways in which the j 3-components of angular momentum add to zero;
there are seven such possibilities:
|j = 0, 0} = a1 |1, 0, 1 + a2 |1, 1, 0 + a3 |0, 1, 1 + a4 |0, 1, 1
+ a5 | 1, 1, 0 + a6 | 1, 0, 1 + a7 |0, 0, 0.

(4.2)

J+(1) I (2) I (3) + I (1) J+(2) I (3) + I (1) I (2) J+(3)

Next, by W2, the raising operator J+ =

is applied on (4.2). Since J+ |j = 0, 0} = 0, this gives

0 = J+ |j = 0, 0}

= 2a1 [|1, 1, 1 + |1, 0, 0] + 2a2 [|1, 0, 0 + |1, 1, 1]

+ 2a3 [|1, 1, 1 + |0, 1, 0] + 2a4 [|1, 1, 1 + |0, 0, 1]

+ 2a5 [|0, 1, 0 + | 1, 1, 1] + 2a6 [|0, 0, 1 + | 1, 1, 1]

+ 2a7 [|1, 0, 0 + |0, 1, 0 + |0, 0, 1]

=

(4.3)

2|1, 1, 1[a1 + a3 ] + 2|1, 1, 1[a2 + a4 ] + 2| 1, 1, 1[a5 + a6 ]

+ 2|1, 0, 0[a1 + a2 + a7 ] + 2|0, 1, 0[a3 + a5 + a7 ]

+ 2|0, 0, 1[a4 + a6 + a7 ].
(4.4)

By linear independence, the coefficients multiplying each product state must be zero. This
gives a set of six linear equations for seven unknowns. Choosing a1 to be the remaining
independent unknown and solving the six equations gives a7 = 0 and a2 = a3 = a4 =
a5 = a6 = a1 . The constant a1 can be fixed by demanding that the state |j = 0, 0} be
normalized and choosing the phase factor to be 1: a1 = 16 . Thereupon, the j = 0 state has
the form
1
|j = 0, 0} = (|1, 0, 1 |1, 1, 0 |0, 1, 1
6
+ |0, 1, 1 + | 1, 1, 0 | 1, 0, 1).
(4.5)
The above example illustrates what is meant by simultaneous coupling; all eigenvectors for
the m = 0 state in the tensor product space are coupled simultaneously in (4.2), rather than
stepwise as implied by (4.1).
By W4, the multiplicity of the j = 1 and j = 2 representations can be determined directly
from the equation analogous to (4.2). For example, for j = 2, start by collecting all terms

A simple method for calculating ClebschGordan coefficients

1029

with m = 2:
|2, 2} = a1 |1, 1, 0 + a2 |1, 0, 1 + a3 |0, 1, 1.
Applying J+ to (4.6) gives

0 = 2(a1 + a2 + a3 )|1, 1, 1.

(4.6)

(4.7)

There is only one equation for the three unknowns a1 , a2 and a3. The difference, 3 1 = 2,
is the multiplicity of the j = 2 representation, as also confirmed by (4.1).
5. Concluding remarks

This paper presents a simple procedure for calculating ClebschGordan coefficients, a

procedure that is readily accessible to undergraduates and beginning graduate students studying
the quantum theory of angular momentum. The three-step process W1W3 described in
section 3 determines both the spectrum of the total angular momentum quantum number j
and the ClebschGordan coefficients for the expansion of the direct sum basis vectors |j, m}
in terms of the tensor product basis vectors |m1 , m2 .
The general discussion and the examples treated show that the procedure W1W3 provides
a complete solution for the reduction of the tensor product of two irreducible representations of
SU (2). The main strength of the proposed method is that it is a simultaneous coupling scheme
that allows all the ClebschGordan coefficients for a given value of j1 j2  j  j1 + j2 to be
directly determined without having to make use of the ClebschGordan coefficients for any of
the intermediate couplings or other values of j . Furthermore, the example of section 4 shows
that the method also works for the multiplicity-free irreducible representations occurring in
a tensor product of any number of irreducible representations. In fact, this method extends
even to cases where there is multiplicity. The main difficulty with these cases is that the
ClebschGordan coefficients are not defined uniquely in the first place. In order to define
them uniquely, it is necessary to include additional operators. Once such additional operators
have been incorporated, the procedure W1W3 can be used to compute ClebschGordan
coefficients when the multiplicity is greater than 1.
As a final remark, the procedure given here also generalizes to higher rank compact groups
such as SU (3). The main technical difficulty is that there are more sets of raising and lowering
operators. For instance, there are three sets of raising and lowering operators (solutions to
the eigenvalue problem for the Cartan subalgebra) for the eight-dimensional Lie algebra of
SU (3). In the basis conventionally denoted by T1 , T2 , T3 , U1 , U2 , V1 , V2 , Y , they are given
by
T = T1 iT2 ,

U = U1 iU2 ,

V = V1 iV2 .

(5.1)

Applying all of the raising operators to highest weight states, which are the analogues of
the |j = m, m} states for SU (2) considered above, results in linear sets of equations that
determine the ClebschGordan coefficients in exactly the same way as has been done here for
SU (2).
Acknowledgments

SW acknowledges support from Research Corporation.

1030

W H Klink and S Wickramasekara

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