Functional Bethe Ansatz for a sinh-Gordon Model with Real q

Recently, Bazhanov and Sergeev have described an Ising-type integrable model which can be identified as a sinh-Gordon-type model with an infinite number of states but with a real parameter q. This model is the subject of Sklyanin’s Functional Bethe Ansatz. We develop in this paper the whole technique of the FBA which includes: (1) Construction of eigenstates of an off-diagonal element of a monodromy matrix. The most important ingredients of these eigenstates are the Clebsh-Gordan coefficients of the corresponding representation. (2) Separately, we discuss the Clebsh-Gordan coefficients, as well as the Wigner’s 6j symbols, in details. The later are rather well known in the theory of $3D$ indices. Thus, the Sklyanin basis of the quantum separation of variables is constructed. The matrix elements of an eigenstate of the auxiliary transfer matrix in this basis are products of functions satisfying the Baxter equation. Such functions are called usually the Q-operators. We investigate the Baxter equation and Q-operators from two points of view. (3) In the model considered the most convenient Bethe-type variables are the zeros of a Wronskian of two well defined particular solutions of the Baxter equation. This approach works perfectly in the thermodynamic limit. We calculate the distribution of these roots in the thermodynamic limit, and so we reproduce in this way the partition function of the model. (4) The real parameter q, which is the standard quantum group parameter, plays the role of the absolute temperature in the model considered. Expansion with respect to q (tropical expansion) gives an alternative way to establish the structure of the eigenstates. In this way we classify the elementary excitations over the ground state.