Spherical Harmonic Integration

AI Thread Summary
The discussion centers on the integration of spherical harmonics, specifically evaluating the integral of the product of spherical harmonics and their complex conjugates. The user, Kostas, seeks confirmation that the integral of the squared magnitude of a spherical harmonic, expressed as ∫_S |Y_{nm}(ω)|^2 dω, equals (2n+1)/(4π). Additionally, Kostas explores the orthogonality principle of spherical harmonics, questioning whether the integral ∫_S Y_{nm}(ω)Y_{n'm'}^*(ω) dω results in the Kronecker delta function, indicating orthogonality when n equals n' and m equals m'. The discussion emphasizes the mathematical properties and relationships of spherical harmonics in integration.
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Spherical Harmonic Integration please help!

Hi guys,

I have a spherical harmonic integration problem that I would like to solve

\int_S Y_{nm}^*(\omega)Y_{nm}^*(\omega) d\omega
which I re-write as follows:

= \int_S \left|Y_{nm}^*(\omega)\right|^2 d\omega

Am I right to say that

\int_S \left|Y_{nm}^*(\omega)\right|^2 d\omega = \frac{2n+1}{4\pi} ?

since we know that

\left|Y_{nm}^*(\omega)\right|^2 = \frac{2n+1}{4\pi}

Thanks in advance

Kostas
 
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Spherical Harmonic Integration please help!

Hi,

Please accept my apologies but I would like to re-phrase the problem as it might make things clearer for those of you who are experts in this area of mathematics. I have also made some corrections to my last post.

I have a spherical harmonic integration problem that I would like to solve. The integral follows:

\int_S Y_{nm}(\omega)Y_{nm}^*(\omega) d\omega

My understanding is that the above can be re-written as follows:

\int_S Y_{nm}(\omega)Y_{nm}^*(\omega) d\omega= \int_S \left|Y_{nm}(\omega)\right|^2 d\omega

and since we know that

\int_S \left|Y_{nm}(\omega)\right|^2 d\omega = \frac{2n+1}{4\pi}

I conclude that

\int_S Y_{nm}(\omega)Y_{nm}^*(\omega) d\omega = \frac{2n+1}{4\pi}

Would you agree with the above approach?

My problem is that using the orthogonality principle of Spherical Harmonics the same problem can be handled (or can it be handled?).

\int_S Y_{nm}(\omega) Y_{n'm'}^*(\omega) d\omega = \delta_{nn'} \delta_{mm'}

so that if n = n' the result will be equal to 1 and 0 otherwise. Am I wrong?

I would highly appreciate your advice

Kostas
 
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