  We study the semiclassical decay of macroscopic spinning strings in AdS_5 x
S^5 through spontaneous splitting of the folded string worldsheet. Based on
similar considerations in flat space this decay channel is expected to dominate
the full quantum computation. The outgoing strings are uniquely specified by an
infinite set of conserved (local) charges with a regular expansion in inverse
powers of the initial angular momentum. We compute these charges and determine
functional relations between them. Finally, a preliminary discussion of the
corresponding calculation in the non-planar sector of the dual gauge theory is
presented.
