Matrix product formula for Macdonald polynomials

We derive a matrix product formula for symmetric Macdonald polynomials. Our results are obtained by constructing polynomial solutions of deformed Knizhnik-Zamolodchikov equations, which arise by considering representations of the Zamolodchikov-Faddeev and Yang-Baxter algebras in terms of t-deformed bosonic operators. These solutions are generalized probabilities for particle configurations of the multi-species asymmetric exclusion process, and form a basis of the ring of polynomials in n variables whose elements are indexed by compositions. For weakly increasing compositions (anti-dominant weights), these basis elements coincide with non-symmetric Macdonald polynomials. Our formulas imply a natural combinatorial interpretation in terms of solvable lattice models. They also imply that normalizations of stationary states of multi-species exclusion processes are obtained as Macdonald polynomials at q = 1.