Conjectured Wigner 6j-symbol summation identities

About 1 year old · traced to

For fixed NN, let

Wijℓ={ijℓN−12N−12N−12},Wji={iN−12N−12jN−12N−12},\mathcal{W}^{ij\ell}=\left\{\begin{matrix} i & j & \ell \\ \frac{N-1}{2} & \frac{N-1}{2} & \frac{N-1}{2}\end{matrix}\right\},\qquad \mathcal{W}_j^i=\left\{\begin{matrix} i & \frac{N-1}{2} & \frac{N-1}{2} \\ j & \frac{N-1}{2} & \frac{N-1}{2}\end{matrix}\right\},

let λi=i(i+1)\lambda_i=i(i+1), and let Hj=1+1/2+⋯+1/jH_j=1+1/2+\cdots+1/j be the jthj^{\text{th}} harmonic number. The conjectured Wigner 6j6j identities. For all 1≤j,ℓ≤N−11\leq j,\ell\leq N-1, the four displayed summation identities in the source hold, with the first subject to j≠ℓj\neq\ell:

∑i=1N−12i+1λi(Wijℓ)2=1N∣j−ℓ∣(j+ℓ+1),\sum_{i=1}^{N-1}\frac{2i+1}{\lambda_i}(\mathcal{W}^{ij\ell})^2=\frac{1}{N|j-\ell|(j+\ell+1)}, ∑i=1N−1(−1)iλi(2i+1)(Wijℓ)2=(−1)N+1(λj+λℓ)Wjℓ,\sum_{i=1}^{N-1}(-1)^i\lambda_i(2i+1)(\mathcal{W}^{ij\ell})^2=(-1)^{N+1}(\lambda_j+\lambda_\ell)\mathcal{W}_j^\ell, ∑i=1N−1λi(2i+1)(Wijℓ)2=(N2−1)(λj+λℓ)−2λjλℓN(N2−1),\sum_{i=1}^{N-1}\lambda_i(2i+1)(\mathcal{W}^{ij\ell})^2=\frac{(N^2-1)(\lambda_j+\lambda_\ell)-2\lambda_j\lambda_\ell}{N(N^2-1)}, ∑i=1N−12i+1λi(1N+(−1)i+j+NWji)=2HjN.\sum_{i=1}^{N-1}\frac{2i+1}{\lambda_i}\left(\frac1N+(-1)^{i+j+N}\mathcal{W}_j^i\right)=\frac{2H_j}{N}.

These identities are proposed from recurring numerical patterns in the Ricci-curvature computations and extend standard Wigner 6j6j summation formulas; the source gives no resolution beyond numerical evidence.

References

Primary source

Leandro Lichtenfelz, Klas Modin and Stephen C. Preston, “Ricci curvature for hydrodynamics on the sphere”, arXiv:2508.09833 (2025).

Progress summary

Never refreshed

Nothing recorded yet. Refresh searches the literature and the public web for attempts on this problem, and writes the first summary here.

Solutions 0

No solutions have been posted yet.