The ghost algebra and the dilute ghost algebra

Abstract

We introduce the ghost algebra, a two-boundary generalisation of the Temperley-Lieb (TL) algebra, using a diagrammatic presentation. The existing two-boundary TL algebra has a basis of string diagrams with two boundaries, and the number of strings connected to each boundary must be even; in the ghost algebra, this number may be odd. To preserve associativity while allowing boundary-to-boundary strings to have distinct parameters according to the parity of their endpoints, as seen in the one-boundary TL algebra, we decorate the boundaries with bookkeeping dots called ghosts. We also introduce the dilute ghost algebra, an analogous two-boundary generalisation of the dilute TL algebra. We then present loop models associated with these algebras, and classify solutions to their boundary Yang-Baxter equations, given existing solutions to the Yang-Baxter equations for the TL and dilute TL models. This facilitates the construction of a one-parameter family of commuting transfer tangles, making these models Yang-Baxter integrable.