The nonuniqueness of Chekanov polynomials of Legendrian knots (Q2388868)

A Legendrian knot is one which is everywhere tangent to the standard contact structure (non-integrable plane 2-field) in \(\mathbb R^3\). It can be represented by immersed curves in the plane, with cusps, but no vertical tangents (Legendrian fronts). The most basic invariants are the Thurston-Bennequin number and the rotation number, which are enough to determine Legendrian isotopy in simple cases. In other cases Chekanov has described integer Laurent polynomial invariants, determined combinatorially using an augementation of a differential graded algebra associated to the knot. This paper shows that Chekanov polynomials only exist when the rotation number is \(0\), and goes on to show that there exist prime knots with \(k\) distinct Chekanov polynomials for any given \(k\geq1\). A central technique in the construction is that of Legendrian tangle replacement, where two horizontal parallel strands in a front are replaced by a suitably non-trivial Legendrian tangle. This is shown to increase the number of Chekanov polynomials, while using results of Lickorish to ensure that the knot remains prime, once a suitable initial front has been chosen. The paper finishes with a complete list of fronts with maximal Bennequin number, and the Chekanov polynomials for knots up to 9 crossings, arranged so that mirror images are given by naturally paired fronts.