Maximal Thurston-Bennequin numbers of alternating links

We show that the upper bound of the maximal Thurston-Bennequin number for an oriented alternating link given by the Kauffman polynomial is sharp. As an application, we confirm a question of Ferrand. We also give a formula of the maximal Thurston-Bennequin number for all two-bridge links. Finally, we introduce knot concordance invariants derived from the Thurston-Bennequin number and the Maslov number of a Legendrian knot.     

On connected sums and Legendrian knots

We study the behavior of Legendrian and transverse knots under the operation of connected sums. As a consequence we show that there exist Legendrian knots that are not distinguished by any known invariant. Moreover, we classify Legendrian knots in some non-Legendrian-simple knot types.     

An infinite family of Legendrian torus knots distinguished by cube number

For a knot K the cube number is a knot invariant defined to be the smallest n for which there is a cube diagram of size n for K. There is also a Legendrian version of this invariant called the Legendrian cube number. We will show that the Legendrian cube number distinguishes the Legendrian left hand torus knots with maximal Thurston-Bennequin number and maximal rotation number from the Legendrian left hand torus knots with maximal Thurston-Bennequin number and minimal rotation number.     

On Legendrian knots and polynomial invariants

It is proved in this note that the analogues of the Bennequin inequality which provide an upper bound for the Bennequin invariant of a Legendrian knot in the standard contact three dimensional space in terms of the least degree in the framing variable of the HOMFLY and the Kauffman polynomials are not sharp. Furthermore, the relationships between these restrictions on the range of the Bennequin invariant are investigated, which leads to a new simple proof of the inequality involving the Kauffman polynomial.

     

Computing rotation and self-linking numbers in contact surgery diagrams

We give an explicit formula to compute the rotation number of a nullhomologous Legendrian knot in contact (1/n)-surgery diagrams along Legendrian links and obtain a corresponding result for the self-linking number of transverse knots. Moreover, we extend the formula by Ding–Geiges–Stipsicz for computing the d₃-invariant to (1/n)-surgeries.     

Positive open book decompositions of Stein fillable 3-manifolds along prescribed links

It is known by Loi and Piergallini that a closed, oriented, smooth 3-manifold is Stein fillable if and only if it has a positive open book decomposition. In the present paper we will show that for every link L in a Stein fillable 3-manifold there exists an additional knot L^′ to L such that the link L∪L^′ is the binding of a positive open book decomposition of the Stein fillable 3-manifold. To prove the assertion, we will use the divide, which is a generalization of real morsification theory of complex plane curve singularities, and 2-handle attachings along Legendrian curves.     

Microlocal versal deformations of the plane curves yk=xn

We introduce the notion of microlocal versal deformation of a plane curve. We construct equisingular versal deformations of Legendrian curves that are the conormal of a semi-quasi-homogeneous branch. To cite this article: J. Cabral, O. Neto, C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, Ser. I 347 (2009).     

Legendrian Knots in Overtwisted Contact Structures on S3

We study the problem of classifying Legendrian knots in overtwisted contact structures on S ³. The question is whether topologically isotopic Legendrian knots have to be Legendrian isotopic if they have equal values of the well-known invariants rot and tb. We give positive answer in the case that there is an overtwisted disc intersecting none of the knots and we construct an example of a knot intersecting each overtwisted disc (this provides a counterexample to the conjecture of Eliashberg). Our proof needs some results on the structure of the group of contactomorphisms of S ³. We divide the subgroup Cont₊(S ³, ) of coorientation-preserving contactomorphisms for an overtwisted contact distribution into two classes.     

Determining knots by optimizing the bending and stretching energies

For a given set of data points in the plane, a new method is presented for computing a parameter value (knot) for each data point. Associated with each data point, a quadratic polynomial curve passing through three adjacent consecutive data points is constructed. The curve has one degree of freedom which can be used to optimize the shape of the curve. To obtain a better shape of the curve, the degree of freedom is determined by optimizing the bending and stretching energies of the curve so that variation of the curve is as small as possible. Between each pair of adjacent data points, two local knot intervals are constructed, and the final knot interval corresponding to these two points is determined by a combination of the two local knot intervals. Experiments show that the curves constructed using the knots by the new method generally have better interpolation precision than the ones constructed using the knots by the existing local methods.     

Computing the Thurston–Bennequin invariant in open books

We give explicit formulas and algorithms for the computation of the Thurston–Bennequin invariant of a nullhomologous Legendrian knot on a page of a contact open book and on Heegaard surfaces in convex position. Furthermore, we extend the results to rationally nullhomologous knots in arbitrary 3-manifolds.     

Linking, Legendrian Linking and Causality

The set N of all null geodesics of a globally hyperbolic (d+ 1)-dimensional spacetime (M, g) is naturally a smooth (2d– 1)-dimensional contact manifold. The sky of an eventx in M is the subset X of N consisting of all null geodesicsthrough x, and is an embedded Legendrian submanifold of N diffeomorphicto S^{(d – 1)}. It was conjectured by Low that for d = 2two events x and y are causally related if and only if X andY are linked (in an appropriate sense). We use the contact structureand knot polynomial calculations to prove this conjecture incertain particular cases, and suggest that for d = 3 smoothlinking should be replaced with Legendrian linking.     

An Ozsváth–Szabó Floer homology invariant of knots in a contact manifold

Using the knot Floer homology filtration, we define invariants associated to a knot in a three-manifold possessing non-vanishing Floer co(homology) classes. In the case of the Ozsváth–Szabó contact invariant we obtain an invariant of knots in a contact three-manifold. This invariant provides an upper bound for the Thurston–Bennequin plus rotation number of any Legendrian realization of the knot. We use it to demonstrate the first systematic construction of prime knots in contact manifolds other than S³ with negative maximal Thurston–Bennequin invariant. Perhaps more interesting, our invariant provides a criterion for an open book to induce a tight contact structure. A corollary is that if a manifold possesses contact structures with distinct non-vanishing Ozsváth–Szabó invariants, then any fibered knot can realize the classical Eliashberg–Bennequin bound in at most one of these contact structures.     

Control curves and knot insertion for trigonometric splines

We introduce control curves for trigonometric splines and show that they have properties similar to those for classical polynomial splines. In particular, we discuss knot insertion algorithms, and show that as more and more knots are inserted into a trigonometric spline, the associated control curves converge to the spline. In addition, we establish a convex-hull property and a variation-diminishing result.     

Real plane algebraic curves

We study real algebraic plane curves, at an elementary level, using as little algebra as possible. Both cases, affine and projective, are addressed. A real curve is infinite, finite or empty according to the fact that a minimal polynomial for the curve is indefinite, semi-definite nondefinite or definite. We present a discussion about isolated points. By means of the P operator, these points can be easily identified for curves defined by minimal polynomials of order bigger than one. We also discuss the conditions that a curve must satisfy in order to have a minimal polynomial. Finally, we list the most relevant topological properties of affine and projective, complex and real plane algebraic curves.     

Dualities and envelopes of one-parameter families of frontals in hyperbolic and de Sitter 2-spaces

We consider envelopes of one-parameter families of frontals in hyperbolic and de Sitter 2-space from the viewpoint of duality, respectively. Since the classical notions of envelopes for singular curves do not work, we have to find a new method to define the envelope for singular curves in hyperbolic space or de Sitter space. To do that, we first introduce notions of one-parameter families of Legendrian curves by using the Legendrian dualities. Afterwards, we give definitions of envelopes for the one-parameter families of frontals in hyperbolic and de Sitter 2-space, respectively. We investigate properties of the envelopes. At last, we give relationships among those envelopes.     

Computing ECT-B-splines recursively

ECT-spline curves for sequences of multiple knots are generated from different local ECT-systems via connection matrices. Under appropriate assumptions there is a basis of the space of ECT-splines consisting of functions having minimal compact supports, normalized to form a nonnegative partition of unity. The basic functions can be defined by generalized divided differences [24]. This definition reduces to the classical one in case of a Schoenberg space. Under suitable assumptions it leads to a recursive method for computing the ECT-B-splines that reduces to the de Boor–Mansion–Cox recursion in case of ordinary polynomial splines and to Lyche's recursion in case of Tchebycheff splines. For sequences of simple knots and connection matrices that are nonsingular, lower triangular and totally positive the spline weights are identified as Neville–Aitken weights of certain generalized interpolation problems. For multiple knots they are limits of Neville–Aitken weights. In many cases the spline weights can be computed easily by recurrence. Our approach covers the case of Bézier-ECT-splines as well. They are defined by different local ECT-systems on knot intervals of a finite partition of a compact interval [a,b] connected at inner knots all of multiplicities zero by full connection matrices A ^[i] that are nonsingular, lower triangular and totally positive. In case of ordinary polynomials of order n they reduce to the classical Bézier polynomials. We also present a recursive algorithm of de Boor type computing ECT-spline curves pointwise. Examples of polynomial and rational B-splines constructed from given knot sequences and given connection matrices are added. For some of them we give explicit formulas of the spline weights, for others we display the B-splines or the B-spline curves. *Supported in part by INTAS 03-51-6637.     

Handle attaching in symplectic homology and the Chord Conjecture

Arnold conjectured that every Legendrian knot in the standard contact structure on the 3-sphere possesses a characteristic chord with respect to any contact form. I confirm this conjecture if the know has Thurston-Bennequin invariant −1. More generally, existence of chords is proved for a standard Legendrian unknot on the boundary of a subcritical Stein manifold of any dimension. There is also a multiplicity result which implies in some situations existence of infinitely many chords.?The proof relies on the behaviour of symplectic homology under handle attaching. The main observation is that symplectic homology only changes in the presence of chords. Received July 14, 2000 / final version received June 1, 2001?Published online August 1, 2001     

On Willmore Legendrian surfaces in $$\mathbb {S}^5$$ and the contact stationary Legendrian Willmore surfaces

In this paper we study Willmore Legendrian surfaces (that is Legendrian surfaces which are critical points of the Willmore functional). We use an equality proved in Luo (arXiv:1211.4227v6) to get a relation between Willmore Legendrian surfaces and contact stationary Legendrian surfaces in \(\mathbb {S}^5\), and then we use this relation to prove a classification result for Willmore Legendrian spheres in \(\mathbb {S}^5\). We also get an integral inequality for Willmore Legendrian surfaces and in particular we prove that if the square length of the second fundamental form of a Willmore Legendrian surface in \(\mathbb {S}^5\) belongs to [0, 2], then it must be 0 and L is totally geodesic or 2 and L is a flat minimal Legendrian tori, which generalizes the result of Yamaguchi et al. (Proc Am Math Soc 54:276–280, 1976). We also study variation of the Willmore functional among Legendrian surfaces in 5-dimensional Sasakian manifolds. Let \(\Sigma \) be a closed surface and \((M,\alpha ,g_\alpha ,J)\) a 5-dimensional Sasakian manifold with a contact form \(\alpha \), an associated metric \(g_\alpha \) and an almost complex structure J. Assume that \(f:\Sigma \mapsto M\) is a Legendrian immersion. Then f is called a contact stationary Legendrian Willmore surface (in short, a csL Willmore surface) if it is a critical point of the Willmore functional under contact deformations. To investigate the existence of csL Willmore surfaces we introduce a higher order flow which preserves the Legendre condition and decreases the Willmore energy. As a first step we prove that this flow is well posed if \((M,\alpha ,g_\alpha ,J)\) is a Sasakian Einstein manifold, in particular \(\mathbb {S}^5\).     

Expansions for the Bollob��s-Riordan Polynomial of Separable Ribbon Graphs

We define 2-decompositions of ribbon graphs, which generalize 2-sums and tensor products of graphs. We give formulae for the Bollobás-Riordan polynomial of such a 2-decomposition, and derive the classical Brylawski formula for the Tutte polynomial of a tensor product as a (very) special case. This study was initially motivated from knot theory, and we include an application of our formulae to mutation in knot diagrams.     

Smooth interpolation of a mesh of curves

The interpolation of a mesh of curves by a smooth regularly parametrized surface with one polynomial piece per facet is studied. Not every mesh with a well-defined tangent plane at the mesh points has such an interpolant: the curvature of mesh curves emanating from mesh points with an even number of neighbors must satisfy an additional vertex enclosure constraint. The constraint is weaker than previous analyses in the literature suggest and thus leads to more efficient constructions. This is illustrated by an implemented algorithm for the local interpolation of a cubic curve mesh by a piecewise [bi]quarticC ¹ surface. The scheme is based on an alternative sufficient constraint that forces the mesh curves to interpolate second-order data at the mesh points. Rational patches, singular parametrizations, and the splitting of patches are interpreted as techniques to enforce the vertex enclosure constraint.Communicated by Wolfgang Dahmen.