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A review of basic computations with spherical harmonics in geomagnetism

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Summary

A number of problems arising in geomagnetism may be successfully solved by using various recurrence relations for spherical harmonic functions. This paper combines these recurrence relations into one simple computational algorithm, and illustrates the flexibility of the algorithm by applying it to the prototype problems of evaluating spherical harmonics and their derivatives, and transforming them under changes of reference frame.

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James, R.W. A review of basic computations with spherical harmonics in geomagnetism. PAGEOPH 111, 2273–2285 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00940879

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