Derivation of matrix product states for the Heisenberg spin chain with open boundary conditions.

Using the algebraic Bethe Ansatz, we derive a matrix product representation of the exact Bethe-Ansatz states of the six-vertex Heisenberg chain (either XXX or XXZ and spin-1/2) with open boundary conditions. In this representation, the components of the Bethe eigenstates are expressed as traces of products of matrices that act on a tensor product of auxiliary spaces. As compared to the matrix product states of the same Heisenberg chain but with periodic boundary conditions, the dimension of the exact auxiliary matrices is enlarged as if the conserved number of spin-flips considered would have been doubled.