APPENDIX B

CLEBSCH-GORDAN COEFFICIENTS

Clebsch-Gordan coefficients arise when two angular momenta are combined into a
total angular momentum. This will occur when the angular momentum of a system
is found as the combination of the angular momenta of two subsystems or when two
types of angular momenta relating to the same particle are combined to find the total
angular momentum for that particle, as in the addition of orbital and spin angular
momenta to obtain a total angular momentum for the particle.
Let us find the total angular momentum j as a sum of the momenta ji and j 2 . The
wave function for the total momentum can be written as

(JU2, ™\™2 \jm) iphmi iphm2, (B.I)

YYl\ ,TYli

where the indices on the wave functions characterize the angular momentum and its
projection onto a fixed axis. The coefficients in this expansion are called Clebsch-
Gordan coefficients. We now examine their properties.

B.I PROPERTIES OF CLEBSCH-GORDAN COEFFICIENTS

B.I.I Condition for Addition of Angular Momentum Projections

It follows from the conservation law for the sum of angular momentum projections
that

(JiJ2>mim2 \Jm) — 0 if m
\ + m2 ^ m- (B.2)
Radiative Processes in Atomic Physics. V. P. Krainov, H. R. Reiss, B. M. Smirnov 235
Copyright © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
ISBN: 0-471-12533-4
236 CLEBSCH-GORDAN COEFFICIENTS

B.1.2 Orthogonality Condition

Orthogonality properties of the wave functions are expressed as

This leads to the orthogonality condition for the Clebsch-Gordan coefficients, which
is

2_] Oi72, m\m2 \jm) (j\j2, m\m2 jmf) = 8mm>, (B.3)

where 8mm> is the Kronecker delta symbol defined by

1, m — m1
0, mi- m1

B.1.3 Inversion Property

In the inversion transformation of the radius vector, r —> — r, the wave functions will
change sign or not, depending on their parity. That is, the wave functions transform
as
\\r. v (— i \i~m \\r .

This leads to

so that we obtain

O"i7*2, -mh -m2 \j, ~m) = (-l)J~Jl~j2 (jiJ2,m\m2 \jm). (B.4)

B.1.4 Permutation Properties

It follows from the rules for the construction of the Clebsch-Gordan coefficients and
the rules for the addition of two angular momenta into a zero total angular momentum
that

{j\h,mxm2\jm) = (-l)Jl m
' xj———(jljfmlt ~m\j2 - m2) (B.5)

72, — m, m2 \j\ —mi).

EVALUATION OF CERTAIN CLEBSCH-GORDAN COEFFICIENTS 237

B.2 EVALUATION OF CERTAIN CLEBSCH-GORDAN

COEFFICIENTS

We consider first the evaluation of Clebsch-Gordan coefficients for the frequently

occurring case h ~ \- We begin by obtaining a relation for Clebsch-Gordan coef-
ficients that is valid for any angular momenta. From the addition properties used to
form j = ji + J2, we obtain the condition

j 2 ~ ji ~ J2 = 2ji j 2 = 2juJ2z + 7*1 + 72- + 71-7*2+.

When this operator acts on the wave function in Eq. (B.I), the result is

JU + 1) ~ 7i0*1 + 1) ~ 72(72 + 1) = y^0'i72>raim217m)p!72, m[m'2\jm)

X
{^hm^hm^hzhz + 7*1 + 7*2-
+ 7*1-7*2+ l^,m>; 2 m 2 ).

For the given value of m, the conservation rule for angular momentum projections
gives

m\ = m — 1712, m[ = m — m2.

With the help of the momentum operator eigenvalues in Eqs. (A.2) and (A.9), we find
that

7(7 + D - 7 i ( 7 i + l ) - 72(72+ D

m2

- mQQ'i + mi + \)(j2 - m2 + l)(j2 + rn2)

m2
x
{j\J2,mxm2\jm)(jiJ2,mi + 1, m2 - l\jm)
^ 72 - m2)(j2 + m2 + 1)
m2

x
O'i7*2, rnxm2\jm){jxJ2y mi - 1, m2 + \\jm). (B.6)

Now we apply the above results to the particular case where j2 = \. For the given
values 7, 7i, there are two nonzero Clebsch-Gordan coefficients that we shall denote
as

X={h\,m-\,\\jm),
238 CLEBSCH-GORDAN COEFFICIENTS

Using this notation, Eq. (B.6) for j2 = \ becomes

JU + 1) " 7i O'l + 1) " I = (m - \)X2 - [m + i ) Y

The normalization condition for the Clebsch-Gordan coefficients given in Eq. (B.3)
is of the form
X2 + Y2 = 1.
When this is inserted into the preceding expression, we obtain

U - h)U + h + 1) - 3 = m (X2 - Y2) + 2\l(jx + | ) 2 - m*XY.

With the notation

we can rewrite our results as the system of equations

t(X2 - Y2) + 2 \ / l — f-XY = ±1, X2 + Y2 = \.

The ambiguous sign ± is such that the upper sign corresponds to j = j \ + \, while
the lower sign is associated with j = jx — \.
The solution of the equations we have obtained is

=
for 7 = 7i + 5, and for j j \ ~ \ it is

These results are summarized in Table B.I.

TABLE B.I. ( j \ \, m - <r, o-1 jm)

cr
I _ l
j- h 2 2

i
1 j ji + m + 2
+" \
2 V 2
h +1 V 2 y , +— 1
>

1 [h-m + 1 / .( + m + i
2 • i /

2 V Vx + 1
EVALUATION OF CERTAIN CLEBSCH-GORDAN COEFFICIENTS 239

Other values for Clebsch-Gordan coefficients are generally more complicated to

express. Thorough treatments of the relations between Clebsch-Gordan coefficients
and tables of values are available in the literature. See, for example, Refs. 9 or 10.
Another relatively simple form taken by the Clebsch-Gordan coefficients occurs
when the projection of the angular momentum coincides with this momentum. In that
case we have

. . . . . v O/'i +m2,m
0
\j2,J\m2\jm) = y/U\ +72

C/2 ~ W2)! (7 + m)\ (2j + 1) (271)! (7 — 71 + 72)!

C/2 + m2)l (j ~ m)\ (7! - 72 + 7)! (7, + j 2 - 7 ) ! '

(B.7)

{]\j2,mxj2\jm) =
V(7i +72 + 7

x /(7i " mi)! (j + m)\ (2j + 1) (2j2)\ (Ji ~ h + 7)!

(7i + mx)\ (j - m)\ (j - j , + j2)\ (Ji + 72 ~ 7)!'
(B.8)
<7i72, "71^2 \M) = (-l)j]+h~j(JU2, 7i " m2 \j - m), (B.9)
<7i72, mi - j2 \jm) - {-\)^h~j^ {jxh -m[h y _ my ( E U 0 )

Values of the Clebsch-Gordan coefficients are given in Table B.2 for the case
j2 = 1. If m2 = 1 or - 1 , then the coefficients can be calculated using the connections
in Eqs. (B.9) and (B.10). The third possibility, m2 = 0, can be calculated using the
values obtained for m2 = 1 and — 1, and the normalization condition (B.3) for the
Clebsch-Gordan coefficients.

TABLE B.2. (jil; m - m2, m2 I jm)

m2

7-7i 1

,KjL-~*-~,xji--m) / ( 7 i - m + 1 ) ( 7 ! + m + 1) /(71 - i
(27! + 2) (27! + 1) V ( 2 7i + 1) (7i + 1 ) V ( 2 7i + 2 ) (27, + 1)
/(7i m + 1) (7i + m) m
U —i
27,(7i

2 lUi-m+VUi-m) _ /O'i-m)Oi+w). /(71 + m + 1)0"i + ^)

27i (27i + D V h (27i + D V 27, (27, + 1)
240 CLEBSCH-GORDAN COEFFICIENTS

B.3 WIGNER 3j SYMBOLS

A quantity closely related to the Clebsch-Gordan coefficient is the Wigner 3 7 coef-

ficient, designed to achieve maximum symmetry. It can be defined as

^ ) = (-l)j]~J2~m3(JiJ2>mim2 \j3, -m3). (B.ll)

The 3 7 symbol has the property that

= 0 if mi + m2 + m3 =£ 0,
mx m2 - • \ i i >
in place of Eq. (B.2).
We list the principal symmetry and orthogonality properties. Even permutation of
the columns leaves the 3j symbol unchanged, or

7i h h \ = (h h h\ = ( h h h
mi m2 m3 I V m2 m-x nt\ J V m3 mi m2
Odd permutation of the columns, on the other hand, is equivalent to multiplication
by(-iyi+72+j3,sothat

7i h h \ = (h h h
mi m2 m3 J \m2 mi m3

= ( h h h \ = I h h J\
\ mi m3 m2 I \ m3 m2 mi
Orthogonality properties of the Wigner 3j symbols are

h h h \ (J\ h h \ _ o cj
I mi m2 m3 J \m[ m'2 m3

h h h \ ( h h ^ \ = hjfnvnjSUUlh)
mi m2 m3 J \mi m2 m\ j 2/^ + 1
£
where 8 (jij2j3) in Eq. (B.12) is a quantity defined as

[f jl
[ ". hl ~ h -
8 (71/2/3) = {10I otherwise h + h

The statement in Eq. (B.13) is called the triangular condition.