Faces of Relativistic Toda Chain

We demonstrate that the generalization of the relativistic Toda chain (RTC) is a special reduction of two-dimensional Toda lattice hierarchy (2DTL). This reduction implies that the RTC is gauge equivalent to the discrete AKNS hierarchy and, which is the same, to the two-component Volterra hierarchy while its forced (semi-infinite) variant is described by the unitary matrix integral. The integrable properties of the RTC hierarchy are revealed in different frameworks of the Lax representation, orthogonal polynomial systems, and τ-function approach. Relativistic Toda molecule hierarchy is also considered, along with the forced RTC. Some applications to biorthogonal polynomial systems are discussed.