Symmetries of integrable hierarchies and matrix model constraints

Abstract

The orbit construction associates a soliton hierarchy to every level-one vertex realization of a simply laced affine Kac-Moody algebra g. We show that the τ-function of such a hierarchy has the (truncated) Virasoro algebra as an algebra of infinitesimal symmetry transformations. To prove this we use an appropriate bilinear form of these hierarchies together with the coset construction of conformal field theory. For A l (1) the orbit construction gives either the Toda or the KdV hierarchy. These both occur in the one-matrix model of two-dimensional quantum gravity, before and after the double scaling limit respectively. The truncated Virasoro symmetry algebra is exactly the algebra of constraints of the one-matrix model. The partition function of the one-matrix model is therefore an invariant τ-function. We also consider the case of A l (1) with l > 1. Surprisingly, the symmetry algebra in that case is not simply a truncated Casimir algebra. It appears that again only the Virasoro symmetry survives. We speculate on the relation with multi-matrix models.