Holstein–Primakoff transformation ($S^z=S-a^{†}a$)

The Holstein–Primakoff transformation represents a spin-$S$ operator algebra with a bosonic creation operator and annihilation operator:The order of the square root and oscillator operator matters. On the physical Fock states $|n⟩$, $0\le n\le 2S$, the raising and lowering matrix elements are $\sqrt{n(2S-n+1)}$ and $\sqrt{(n+1)(2S-n)}$. Their squared difference gives $[S^{+},S^{-}]|n⟩=2(S-n)|n⟩$, proving the spin commutation relations. Expanding the square root yields the linear spin-wave approximation and its interaction corrections.

A spin-$S$ Hilbert space has dimension $2S+1$. Its Holstein–Primakoff transformation therefore uses only bosonic occupation numbers $0,1,\dots ,2S$. The square root annihilates the upper endpoint. A truncated linear spin-wave approximation formally enlarges this space; it is self-consistent only when boson depletion is small compared with $S$.