CONTINUUM REDUCTION OF VIRASORO-CONSTRAINED LATTICE HIERARCHIES

Abstract

Integrable hierarchies with Virasoro constraints have been observed to describe matrix models. I suggest to define general Virasoro-constrained integrable hierarchies by imposing Virasora-highest-weight conditions on the dressing operators. This simplifies the study of the Virasoro constraints and allows an explicit construction of a scaling which implements the continuum limit of discrete (lattice) hierarchies. Applied to the Toda lattice hierarchy subjected to the Virasoro constraints, this scaling leads to the Virasoro-constrained KP hierarchy. Therefore, in particular, the KP hierarchy is shown to arise as the scaling limit of a matrix model.