Integrable Defects at Junctions within a Network

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to explore the properties of integrable, purely transmitting, defects placed at the junctions of several one-dimensional domains within a network. The defect sewing conditions turn out to be quite restrictive - for example, requiring the number of domains meeting at a junction to be even - and there is a clear distinction between the behaviour of conformal and massive integrable models. The ideas are mainly developed within classical field theory and illustrated using a variety of field theory models defined on the branches of the network, including both linear and nonlinear examples.