Projection operator onto spin-S eigenspaces of total and orbital angular momenta

Abstract

The Frobenius covariant is used to construct a projection operator onto the spin-S eigenspaces associated with the squares of the total and orbital angular momenta. The covariant admits two equivalent representations: as a polynomial in powers of the scalar product of the spin and orbital angular momentum operators, and as a finite expansion in terms of their respective polarization operators. A correspondence is established with Villars' angular momentum projection, used in nuclear structure studies.