On the representations of the rotation group

The matrices of the irreducible representations of the 3-dimensional rotation group are shown to be related to Krawtchouk's orthogonal polynomials of a discrete variable x = j – m', whose degrees are given by n = j + m. The relation follows directly from the recurrence formulas satisfied by the matrix elements and permits a concise development of the formal properties of the rotation matrices. In particular, an asymptotic relation for large j is developed that generalizes a formula first discussed for a special case by Wigner.