Inverse scattering method for a soliton cellular automaton

A set of action-angle variables for a soliton cellular automaton is obtained. It is identified with the rigged configuration, a well-known object in Bethe ansatz. Regarding it as the set of scattering data an inverse scattering method to solve initial value problems of this automaton is presented. By considering partition functions for this system a new interpretation of a fermionic character formula is obtained.