Reduction of Toda Lattice Hierarchy to Generalized KdV Hierarchies and the Two-Matrix Model

Toda lattice hierarchy and the associated matrix formulation of the 2M-boson KP hierarchies provide a framework for the Drinfeld-Sokolov reduction scheme realized through Hamiltonian action within the second KP Poisson bracket. By working with free currents, which Abelianize the second KP Hamiltonian structure, we are able to obtain a unified formalism for the reduced SL(M+1, M−k) KdV hierarchies interpolating between the ordinary KP and KdV hierarchies. The corresponding Lax operators are given as superdeterminants of graded SL(M+1, M−k) matrices in the diagonal gauge and we describe their bracket structure and field content. In particular, we provide explicit free field representations of the associated W(M, M−k) Poisson bracket algebras generalizing the familiar nonlinear WM+1 algebra. Discrete Backlund transformations for SL(M+1, M−k) KdV are generated naturally from lattice translations in the underlying Toda-like hierarchy. As an application we demonstrate the equivalence of the two-matrix string model to the SL(M+1, 1) KdV hierarchy.