Poisson maps and integrable deformations of the Kowalevski top

Abstract

We construct a Poisson map between manifolds with linear Poisson brackets corresponding to the Lie algebras $e(3)$ and $so(4)$. Using this map we establish a connection between the deformed Kowalevski top on $e(3)$ proposed by Sokolov and the Kowalevski top on $so(4)$. The connection between these systems leads to the separation of variables for the deformed system on $e(3)$ and yields the natural $5\times 5$ Lax pair for the Kowalevski top on $so(4)$.