Couplings and recouplings of four angular momenta: Alternative 9j symbols and spin addition diagrams

The Wigner 9j symbols of the first kind-also known as Fano X-coefficients-serve to connect different addition schemes of four angular momenta, widely known examples being the LS and the jj couplings in atomic, molecular, and nuclear spectroscopies. Here, we also consider alternative sequences of binary couplings of four angular momenta, which are dealt through the 9j symbols of the second kind, and are explicitly given by the pentagonal (or Biedenharn-Elliott) identity. These coefficients are essential ingredients in the quantum-mechanical treatments of rotational and polarization phenomena in reaction dynamics and photoinduced processes. We also emphasize the combinatorial structure underlying the extended construction of a previously introduced truncated icosahedral "abacus", and provide extensions useful for algebraical manipulations, semiclassical interpretations, and computational applications, including all the 120 addition schemes.