Related papers: An algorithm to Legendrian realize a curve on a ri…
We prove gluing theorems for tight contact structures. In particular, we rederive (as special cases) gluing theorems due to Colin and Makar-Limanov, and present an algorithm for determining whether a given contact structure on a handlebody…
A revised proof of the author's earlier result is given. It is shown that a boundary surface-link in the 4-sphere is a ribbon surface-link if the surface-link obtained from it by surgery along a pairwise nontrivial fusion 1-handle system is…
If a Legendrian knot $\Lambda$ in the standard contact 3-sphere bounds an orientable exact Lagrangian surface $\Sigma$ in the standard symplectic 4-ball, then the genus of $\Sigma$ is equal to the slice genus of (the smooth knot underlying)…
Oriented ribbon graphs (dessins d'enfant) are graphs embedded in oriented surfaces. A quasi-tree of a ribbon graph is a spanning subgraph with one face, which is described by an ordered chord diagram. We show that for any link diagram $L$,…
We classify topologically trivial Legendrian $\Theta$-graphs and identify the complete family of nondestabilizeable Legendrian realizations in this topological class. In contrast to all known results for Legendrian knots, this is an…
Legendrian contact homology (LCH) and its associated differential graded algebra are powerful non-classical invariants of Legendrian knots. Linearization makes the LCH computationally tractable at the expense of discarding nonlinear (and…
We study the singularities of Legendrian subvarieties of contact manifolds in the complex-analytic category and prove two rigidity results. The first one is that Legendrian singularities with reduced tangent cones are contactomorphically…
A non-singular connected algebraic curve $A$ in a simply connected algebraic surface $X$ can be knotted so that its homology class and the fundamental group of its complement in $X$ is preserved, provided $A$ is sufficiently complex (not…
Contact homology for Legendrian submanifolds in standard contact $(2n+1)$-space is rigorously defined using moduli spaces of holomorphic disks with Lagrangian boundary conditions in complex $n$-space. It provides new invariants of…
Distinct knots K, K' can sometimes share a common p/q-framed Dehn surgery. A folk conjecture held that for a fixed pair of knots, this can occur for at most one value of p/q. We disprove this conjecture by constructing pairs of distinct…
We generalize the Moishezon Teicher algorithm that was suggested for the computation of the braid monodromy of an almost real curve. The new algorithm suits a larger family of curves, and enables the computation of braid monodromy not only…
For any compact connected submanifold $K$ of $\mathbb{R}^n$, let $\Lambda_K$ denote its unit conormal bundle, which is a Legendrian submanifold of the unit cotangent bundle of $\mathbb{R}^n$. In this paper, we give examples of pairs…
We prove a complete classification theorem for loose Legendrian knots in an oriented 3-manifold, generalizing results of Dymara and Ding-Geiges. Our approach is to classify knots in a $3$-manifold $M$ that are transverse to a nowhere-zero…
We use grid diagrams to present a unified picture of braids, Legendrian knots, and transverse knots.
We give an $h$--principle type result for a class of Legendrian embeddings in contact manifolds of dimension at least $5$. These Legendrians, referred to as loose, have trivial pseudo-holomorphic invariants. We demonstrate they are…
We construct a combinatorial invariant of Legendrian knots in standard contact three-space. This invariant, which encodes rational relative Symplectic Field Theory and extends contact homology, counts holomorphic disks with an arbitrary…
We apply results from both contact topology and exceptional surgery theory to study when Legendrian surgery on a knot yields a reducible manifold. As an application, we show that a reducible surgery on a non-cabled positive knot of genus g…
Complex contact manifolds have recently received considerable attention. Many of the newer publications approach contact manifolds via the covering family of minimal rational curves. This short note furthers the study of these curves. It is…
We build handle decompositions of n-manifolds that encode given open book decompositions and describe handle slides that reveal new open book decompositions on the same underlying manifold, for $n \geq 3$. This recovers known stabilization…
Let $H\subseteq S^3$ be the two-component Hopf link. After choosing a Legendrian representative of $H$ with respect to the standard tight contact structure on $S^3$ we perform contact $(-1)$-surgery on the link itself. The manifold we get…