gl q (n) and quantum monodromy

A generalized Toda lattice based on gl(n) is considered. The Poisson brackets are expressed in terms of a Lax connection, L=–() and a classical r-matrix, {₁,₂}=r,₁+₂}. The essential point is that the local lattice transfer matrix is taken to be the ordinary exponential, T=e; this assures the intepretation of the local and the global transfer matrices in terms of monodromy, which is not true of the T-matrix used for the sl(n) Toda lattice. To relate this exponential transfer matrix to the more manageable and traditional factorized form, it is necessary to make specific assumptions about the equal time operator product expansions. The simplest possible assumptions lead to an equivalent, factorized expression for T, in terms of operators in (an extension of) the enveloping algebra of gl(n). Restricted to sl(n), and to multiplicity-free representations, these operators satisfy the commutation relations of sl _q (n), which provides a very simple injection of sl _q (n) into the enveloping algebra of sl(n). A deformed coproduct, similar in form to the familiar coproduct on sl _q (n), turns gl(n) into a deformed Hopf algebra gl _q (n). It contains sl _q (n) as a subalgebra, but not as a sub-Hopf algebra.