Local conserved charges in principal chiral models in 1+1 dimensions are investigated.There is a classically conserved local charge for each totally symmetric invariant tensor of the underlying group. These local charges are shown to be in involution with the non-local Yangian charges. The Poisson bracket algebra of the local charges is then studied. For each classical algebra, an infinite set of local charges with spins equal to the exponents modulo the Coxeter number is constructed, and it is shown that these commute with one another. Brief comments are made on the evidence for, and implications of, survival of these charges in the quantum theory.

We consider the sine-Gordon and affine Toda field theories on the half-line with classically integrable boundary conditions, and show that in the quantum theory a remnant survives of the bulk quantized affine algebra symmetry generated by nonlocal charges. The paper also develops a general framework for obtaining solutions of the reflection equation by solving an intertwining property for representations of certain coideal subalgebras of U q (ĝ).

An introduction to Yangians and their representations, to Yangian symmetry in 1+1D integrable (bulk) field theory, and to the effect of a boundary on this symmetry.

Conserved and commuting charges are investigated in both bosonic and supersymmetric classical chiral models, with and without Wess-Zumino terms. In the bosonic theories, there are conserved currents based on symmetric invariant tensors of the underlying algebra, and the construction of infinitely many commuting charges, with spins equal to the exponents of the algebra modulo its Coxeter number, can be carried out irrespective of the coefficient of the Wess-Zumino term. In the supersymmetric models, a different pattern of conserved quantities emerges, based on antisymmetric invariant tensors. The current algebra is much more complicated than in the bosonic case, and it is analysed in some detail. Two families of commuting charges can be constructed, each with finitely many members whose spins are exactly the exponents of the algebra (with no repetition modulo the Coxeter number). The conserved quantities in the bosonic and supersymmetric theories are only indirectly related, except for the special case of the WZW model and its supersymmetric extension.

For the classical principal chiral model with boundary, we give the subset of the Yangian charges which remains conserved under certain integrable boundary conditions, and extract them from the monodromy matrix. Quantized versions of these charges are used to deduce the structure of rational solutions of the reflection equation, analogous to the 'tensor product graph' for solutions of the Yang-Baxter equation. We give a variety of such solutions, including some for reflection from non-trivial boundary states, for the SU (N ) case, and confirm these by constructing them by fusion from the basic solutions.