Can fusion coefficients be calculated from the depth rule

Abstract The depth rule is a level truncation of tensor-product coefficients expected to be sufficient for the evaluation of fusion coefficients. We reformulate the depth rule in a precise way, and show how, in principle, it can be used to calculate fusion coefficients. However, we argue that the computation of the depth itself, in terms of which the constraints on tensor product coefficients is formulated, is problematic. Indeed, the elements of the basis of states convenient for calculating tensor product coefficients do not have a well-defined depth! We proceed by showing how one can calculate the depth in an “approximate” way and derive accurate lower bounds for the minimum level at which a coupling appears. It turns out that this method yields exact results for su (3) and constitutes an efficient and simple algorithm for computing su (3) fusion coefficients.