Clebsch-Gordan coefficient

noun

Any of a class of numbers that arise in angular momentum coupling in quantum mechanics. They appear as the expansion coefficients of total angular momentum eigenstates in an uncoupled tensor product basis.

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Meanings

nounClebsch-Gordan coefficient (plural Clebsch-Gordan coefficients)

plural Clebsch-Gordan coefficients

  1. natural sciencesAny of a class of numbers that arise in angular momentum coupling in quantum mechanics. They appear as the expansion coefficients of total angular momentum eigenstates in an uncoupled tensor product basis.

Origin

Named after the German mathematicians Alfred Clebsch and Paul Gordan, who encountered an equivalent problem in invariant theory.

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Cite this entry
APA

Clebsch-Gordan coefficient. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Clebsch-Gordan%20coefficient

MLA

“Clebsch-Gordan coefficient.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Clebsch-Gordan%20coefficient. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Clebsch-Gordan coefficient,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Clebsch-Gordan%20coefficient.

Source: Clebsch-Gordan coefficient on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.