On the Zakharov-Mikhailov action: 4d Chern-Simons origin and covariant Poisson algebra of the Lax connection

We derive the $2$d Zakharov-Mikhailov action from $4$d Chern-Simons theory. This $2$d action is known to produce as equations of motion the flatness condition of a large class of Lax connections of Zakharov-Shabat type, which includes an ultralocal variant of the principal chiral model as a special case. At the $2$d level, we determine for the first time the covariant Poisson bracket $r$-matrix structure of the Zakharov-Shabat Lax connection, which is of rational type. The flatness condition is then derived as a covariant Hamilton equation. We obtain a remarkable formula for the covariant Hamiltonian in term of the Lax connection which is the covariant analogue of the well-known formula "$H=Tr L^2$".