  Using one-dimensional spin-orbital model as a typical example of quantum spin
systems with richer symmetries, we study the effect of an isolated impurity on
its low energy dynamics in the gapless phase through bosonization and
renormalization group methods. In the case of internal impurities, depending on
the symmetry, the boundary fixed points can be either an open chain with a
residual spin or (and) orbital triplet left behind, or a periodic chain.
However, these two fixed points are indistinguishable in the sense that in both
cases, the lead-correction-to-scaling boundary operators (LCBO) only show
Fermi-liquid like corrections to thermodynamical quantities. (Except the
possible Curie-like contributions from the residual moments in the latter
cases.) In the case of external (Kondo) impurities, the boundary fixed points,
depending on the sign of orbital couplings, can be either an open chain with an
isolated orbital doublet due to Kondo screening or it will flow to an
intermediate fixed point with the same LCBO as that of the two-channel Kondo
problem. Comparison with the Kondo effect in one-dimensional (1D) Heisenberg
spin chain and multi-band Hubbard models is also made.
