Comparison of quantizations of symmetric spaces: cyclotomic Knizhnik–Zamolodchikov equations and Letzter–Kolb coideals

Abstract We establish an equivalence between two approaches to quantization of irreducible symmetric spaces of compact type within the framework of quasi-coactions, one based on the Enriquez–Etingof cyclotomic Knizhnik–Zamolodchikov (KZ) equations and the other on the Letzter–Kolb coideals. This equivalence can be upgraded to that of ribbon braided quasi-coactions, and then the associated reflection operators (K-matrices) become a tangible invariant of the quantization. As an application we obtain a Kohno–Drinfeld type theorem on type $\mathrm {B}$ braid group representations defined by the monodromy of KZ-equations and by the Balagović–Kolb universal K-matrices. The cases of Hermitian and non-Hermitian symmetric spaces are significantly different. In particular, in the latter case a quasi-coaction is essentially unique, while in the former we show that there is a one-parameter family of mutually nonequivalent quasi-coactions.