Composition of many spins, random walks and statistics

Abstract: The multiplicities of the decomposition of the product of an arbitrary number $n$ of spin $s$ states into irreducible $SU(2)$ representations are computed. Two complementary methods are presented, one based on random walks in representation space and another based on the partition function of the system in the presence of a magnetic field. The large-$n$ scaling limit of these multiplicities is derived, including nonperturbative corrections, and related to semiclassical features of the system. A physical application of these results to ferromagnetism is explicitly worked out. Generalizations involving several types of spins, as well as spin distributions, are also presented. The corresponding problem for (anti-)symmetric composition of spins is also considered and shown to obey remarkable duality and bosonization relations and exhibit qualitatively different large-$n$ scaling properties.