# Continuum limits of pluri-Lagrangian systems

## TL;DR

This paper develops a method to derive continuous integrable hierarchies and their variational structures from discrete pluri-Lagrangian systems using a continuum limit approach with Miwa variables.

## Contribution

It introduces a continuum limit procedure for pluri-Lagrangian systems, connecting discrete lattice equations with continuous integrable hierarchies and their variational structures.

## Key findings

- Derived continuous hierarchies from discrete systems like Toda lattice and ABS equations.
- Established a link between discrete pluri-Lagrangian structures and their continuous counterparts.
- Demonstrated the applicability of the method to well-known integrable systems.

## Abstract

A pluri-Lagrangian (or Lagrangian multiform) structure is an attribute of integrability that has mainly been studied in the context of multidimensionally consistent lattice equations. It unifies multidimensional consistency with the variational character of the equations. An analogous continuous structure exists for integrable hierarchies of differential equations. We present a continuum limit procedure for pluri-Lagrangian systems. In this procedure the lattice parameters are interpreted as Miwa variables, describing a particular embedding in continuous multi-time of the mesh on which the discrete system lives. Then we seek differential equations whose solutions interpolate the embedded discrete solutions. The continuous systems found this way are hierarchies of differential equations. We show that this continuum limit can also be applied to the corresponding pluri-Lagrangian structures. We apply our method to the discrete Toda lattice and to equations H1 and Q1$_{\delta = 0}$ from the ABS list.