Boundary polarization in the six-vertex model

Vertical-arrow fluctuations near the boundaries in the six-vertex model on the two-dimensional N×N square lattice with the domain wall boundary conditions are considered. The one-point correlation function (``boundary polarization'') is expressed via the partition function of the model on a sublattice. The partition function is represented in terms of standard objects in the theory of orthogonal polynomials. This representation is used to study the large N limit: the presence of the boundary affects the macroscopic quantities of the model even in this limit. The logarithmic terms obtained are compared with predictions from conformal field theory.