Generalized Volterra lattices: binary Darboux transformations and self-consistent sources (Q508075)

The authors generalize the famous Volterra lattice equation [\textit{M. Kac} and \textit{P. van Moerbeke}, Adv. Math. 16, 160--169 (1975; Zbl 0306.34001)] to a matrix variable \(V\): \[ V_t=VV_{(1)}-V_{(-1)}V. \eqno{(1)} \] Here, \(V_t\) denotes the derivative of \(V\) with respect to the continuous variable \(t\), and \(V_{(\pm 1)}\) are the values at the adjacent lattice sites. Equation (1) is a member of the family \[ (VV_{(1)}\dots V_{(k-1)}V)_t = \begin{cases} V\cdots V_{(l-1)}-V_{(k-l)}\cdots V_{(k-1)}, \quad l>0 \\ V_{(-1)}^{-1}\cdots V_{(l)}^{-1}-V_{(l)}^{-1}\cdots V_{(k)}^{-1}, \quad l<0\end{cases} \eqno{(2)} \] of generalized Volterra lattice equations. Here \(k>0\) and \(l\) are integers and the authors recover (1) for \(k = 1\) and \(l = 2\). Equation (2) has been investigated, in the scalar case, in [\textit{O. I. Bogoyavlenskij}, Math. USSR, Izv. 31, No. 1, 47--75 (1988); translation from Izv. Akad. Nauk SSSR, Ser. Mat. 51, No. 4, 737--766 (1987; Zbl 0695.34045); Russ. Math. Surv. 46, No. 3, 1--64 (1991; Zbl 0774.35013); translation from Usp. Mat. Nauk 46, No. 3(279), 3--48 (1991)]. For \(k = 1\) and \(l = -1\), Equation (2) yields the modified Volterra lattice equation \[ U_t = U (U_{(1)} - U_{(-1)}) U \] in terms of \(U = V^{-1}\). It is shown that there is an integrable semi-discrete chiral model for an invertible matrix variable \(g\) depending on one continuous and two discrete variables, which admits the reductions \[ (g g^{-1} _{(k)} )_t = g g^{-1}_{ (l)} - (g g^{-1}_{ (l)} )_{(k-l)}, \eqno{(3)} \] By setting \(V = g g^{-1}_{ (l)}\), Equation (3) implies the generalized Volterra lattice Equation (2). The authors present a bidifferential calculus formulation for the semi-discrete chiral model. They derive self-consistent source extensions and construct corresponding exact solutions. Later on, they derive self-consistent source extensions of the first family of generalized Volterra lattice equations as reductions of the self-consistent source extensions of the semi-discrete chiral model. Infinite families of exact solutions of these equations are presented.