arXiv research

New examples show transverse knots are determined by their branched covers.

We classify positive transversal torus knots in tight contact structures up to transversal isotopy.

We classify Legendrian torus knots and figure eight knots in the tight contact structure on the 3-sphere up to Legendrian isotopy. As a corollary to this we also obtain the classification of transversal torus knots and figure eight knots up to transversal isotopy.

We classify transverse Hopf links in the standard contact 3-space up to transverse isotopy in terms of their components' self-linking number.

Stabilization operation for high-dimensional contact manifolds, proving many links are non-simple.

A knot type is exchange reducible if an arbitrary closed n-braid representative can be changed to a closed braid of minimum braid index by a finite sequence of braid isotopies, exchange moves and +/- destabilizations. In the manuscript [J Birman and NC Wrinkle, On transversally simple knots, preprint (1999)] a transver…

We analyze transverse doubled knots in the standard contact 3-space by using spanned clasp disks. As applications, we will estimate their self-linking number and furthermore we will show that in many cases, transverse twist knots with the maximal self-linking number are unique up to transverse isotopy.

We explore properties of braids such as their fractional Dehn twist coefficients, right-veeringness, and quasipositivity, in relation to the transverse invariant from Khovanov homology defined by Plamenevskaya for their closures, which are naturally transverse links in the standard contact $3$-sphere. For any $3$-braid…

New theorem allows transverse links to be braided with rational book structure.

Study finds non-isotopic transverse tori in Engel manifolds.

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 vector field $V$ up to the corresponding isotopy relation. Such knots are called …

The study finds non-simple isotopy classes of links in 3-manifolds, including Legendrian and pseudo-Legendrian examples.

Study contact structures on lens spaces, classifying rational knots.

In this paper, we study the global behaviour of contact structures on oriented manifolds V which are circle bundles over a closed orientable surface S of genus g>0. We establish in particular contact analogs of a number of classical results about foliations due to Milnor, Wood, Thurston, Matsumoto, and Ghys. In Section…

Engel manifolds show transverse tori can be made to have various formal invariants.

Characterizes transverse surfaces for pseudo-Anosov flows in 3-manifolds.

Using convex surfaces and Kanda's classification theorem, we classify Legendrian isotopy classes of Legendrian linear curves in all tight contact structures on $T^3$. Some of the knot types considered in this article provide new examples of non transversally simple knot types.

Classifies Legendrian torus and cable links, revealing symmetries and invariants.

This paper studies isotopies of periodic tangles in 3-manifolds using finite covers.

We provide combinatorial realizations, according to the usual objects/moves scheme, of the following three topological categories: (1) pairs (M,v) where M is a 3-manifold (up to diffeomorphism) and v is a (non-singular vector) field, up to homotopy; here possibly the boundary of M is non-empty and v may be tangent to t…

Using contact-geometric techniques and sutured Floer homology, we present an alternate formulation of the minus and plus version of knot Floer homology. We further show how natural constructions in the realm of contact geometry give rise to much of the formal structure relating the various versions of Heegaard Floer ho…

We say that a topological $n$-manifold $N$ is a cubical $n$-manifold if it is contained in the $n$-skeleton of the canonical cubulation $\mathcal{C}$ of ${\mathbb{R}}^{n+k}$ ($k\geq1$). In this paper, we prove that any closed, oriented cubical $2$-manifold has a transverse field of 2-planes in the sense of Whitehead an…

The Yokonuma-Hecke algebras are quotients of the modular framed braid group and they support Markov traces. In this paper, which is sequel to Juyumaya and Lambropoulou (2007), we explore further the structures of the $p$-adic framed braids and the $p$-adic Yokonuma-Hecke algebras constructed in Juyumaya and Lambropoulo…

We prove that a nicely fibered link (by which we mean the binding of an open book) in a tight contact manifold $(M,ξ)$ with zero Giroux torsion has a transverse representative realizing the Bennequin bound if and only if the contact structure it supports (since it is also the binding of an open book) is $ξ.$ This gives…

We study the role that Hamiltonian and symplectic diffeomorphisms play in the deformation problem of coisotropic submanifolds. We prove that the action by Hamiltonian diffeomorphisms corresponds to the gauge-action of the $L_\infty$-algebra of Oh and Park. Moreover we introduce the notion of extended gauge-equivalence …

Floer theory connects dynamics on surfaces to their chain-level theory.

For embedded 2-spheres in a 4-manifold sharing the same embedded transverse sphere homotopy implies isotopy, provided the ambient 4-manifold has no $\BZ_2$-torsion in the fundamental group. This gives a generalization of the classical light bulb trick to 4-dimensions, the uniqueness of spanning discs for a simple close…

For any compact oriented manifold $M$, we show that that the top degree multi-vector fields transverse to the zero section of $\wedge^{\text{top}}TM$ are classified, up to orientation preserving diffeomorphism, in terms of the topology of the arrangement of its zero locus and a finite number of numerical invariants. Th…

We show that there are contact 3-manifolds of support genus one which admit infinitely many Stein fillings, but do not admit arbitrarily large ones. These Stein fillings arise from genus-1 allowable Lefschetz fibrations with distinct homology groups, all filling a fixed minimal genus open book supporting the boundary c…

A rigorous foundation for the contact homology of Legendrian submanifolds in a contact manifold of the form $P\times \R$ where $P$ is an exact symplectic manifold is established. The class of such contact manifolds include 1-jet spaces of smooth manifolds. As an application, contact homology is used to provide (smooth)…

A meander of order n is a simple closed curve in the plane which intersects a horizontal line transversely at 2n points. (Meanders which differ by an isotopy of the line and plane are considered equivalent.) Let Gamma_n be the Cayley graph of the symmetric group S_n as generated by all (n choose 2) transpositions. Let …

We extend the unpublished work of M. Handel and R. Miller on the classification, up to isotopy, of endperiodic automorphisms of surfaces. We give the Handel-Miller construction of the geodesic laminations, give an axiomatic theory for pseudo-geodesic lamaniations, show the geodesic laminations satisfy the axioms, and p…

We give a new characterization of symplectic surfaces in CP^2 via bridge trisections. Specifically, a minimal genus surface in CP^2 is smoothly isotopic to a symplectic surface if and only if it is smoothly isotopic to a surface in transverse bridge position. We discuss several potential applications, including the cla…

Let $S$ be a closed oriented surface of genus at least $2$, and denote by $\mathcal{T}(S)$ its Teichm{ü}ller space. For any isotopy class of closed curves $γ$, we compute the first three derivatives of the length function $\ell\_γ:\mathcal{T}(S)\rightarrow\mathbf{R}\_+$ in the shearing coordinates associated to a maxim…

A singular knot is an immersed circle in $\mathbb R^{3}$ with finitely many transverse double points. The study of singular knots was initially motivated by the study of Vassiliev invariants. Namely, singular knots give rise to a decreasing filtration on the infinite dimensional vector space spanned by isotopy classes …

We define a norm on the homology of a foliated manifold, which refines and majorizes the usual Gromov norm on homology. This norm depends in an upper semi-continuous way on the underlying foliation, in the geometric topology, and can therefore be used to study the question of which foliations arise as geometric limits …

New findings about twists in 4-sphere diffeomorphisms.

We construct an isotopy of a planar compactum that is not the restriction of an isotopy of any planar continuum.

A braid-like isotopy for links in 3-space is an isotopy which uses only those Reidemeister moves which occur in isotopies of braids. We define a refined Jones polynomial and its corresponding Khovanov homology which are, in general, only invariant under braid-like isotopies.

New obstructions show some 4-manifold homeomorphisms are pseudo-isotopic but not isotopic.

New flows represent Thurston norm ball faces, differing by veering mutations.

Approaches 4D Schoenflies via pseudo-isotopy.

A flow-spine of a 3-manifold is a spine admitting a flow that is transverse to the spine, where the flow in the complement of the spine is diffeomorphic to a constant flow in an open ball. We say that a contact structure on a closed, connected, oriented 3-manifold is supported by a flow-spine if it has a contact form w…

The $\mathbb{Z}_{2}$-equivariant Heegaard Floer cohomlogy $\widehat{HF}_{\mathbb{Z}_{2}}(Σ(K))$ of a knot $K$ in $S^{3}$, constructed by Hendricks, Lipshitz, and Sarkar, is an isotopy invariant which is defined using bridge diagrams of $K$ drawn on a sphere. We prove that $\widehat{HF}_{\mathbb{Z}_{2}}(Σ(K))$ can be co…

Classifies curves up to symplectic isotopy.

In this paper we solve the following problem in the affirmative: Let $Z$ be a continuum in the plane $\complex$ and suppose that $h:Z\times [0,1]\to\complex$ is an isotopy starting at the identity. Can $h$ be extended to an isotopy of the plane? We will provide a new characterization of an accessible point in a planar …

Smooth isotopy on cube saves energy with extra dimensions.

A star-like isotopy for oriented links in 3-space is an isotopy which uses only Reidemeister II moves with opposite orientations and Reidemeister III moves with alternating orientations when checking the strands clockwise (or anticlockwise). We define a link polynomial derived from the Jones polynomial which is, in gen…