Reprint of: Equivalent forms of multi component Toda hierarchies (Q633999)

In a previous article by the authors [Theor. Math. Phys. 165, No. 3, 1608--1634 (2010)], deformations into the upper \(k \times k\)-block triangular matrices were discussed for a set of basic commuting directions in the \(\mathbb{Z}\times \mathbb{Z}\)-matrices that preserve commutativity. Furthermore the underlying infinite dimensional geometry was described there. In the article under review the authors look at the following variation: starting with a maximal set of independent commuting directions half of these directions are deformed into upper \(k \times k\)-block triangular matrices and the other half into lower \(k \times k\)-block triangular matrices, where for each subset commutativity is preserved. The evolution equations for these perturbations are the Lax equations of an integrable hierarchy, consisting of a tower of differential and difference equations for the coefficients or the perturbed matrices. Analogous to the terminology used (for the matrix variant of the KP-hierarchy), these hierarchies are also called multi-component Toda hierarchies. The equations of hierarchy can take various forms, the first being the Lax equations. There are however two others: the zero curvature form and the bilinear form. Here the algebraic backgrounds of the three presentations are analyzed and their equivalence is shown. The zero curvature form is an indication that the Lax equations can be interpreted as the compatibility conditions of some Cauchy problem. On the level of formal power series they do. In general they can be deduced algebraically from a certain linear system. This linearization forms, together with the notions of a wave matrix at zero and a wave matrix at infinity, a necessary ingredient to obtain the bilinear form. These wave matrices are proper analogues in the present setting of the Baker-Akhiezer function for the KP-hierarchy. To show the reality value of the systems the authors conclude by giving a geometric construction of the solution of the hierarchy.