Maximal Thurston-Bennequin number of two-bridge links (Q5938057)

The author determines the maximal Thurston-Bennequin number for a two-bridge knot or oriented two-bridge link in the standard contact structure, by showing that the upper bound in terms of the Kauffman polynomial due to \textit{L. Rudolf} [Math. Proc. Camb. Philos. Soc. 107, No. 2, 319--327 (1990; Zbl 0703.57005)] and \textit{S. Tabachnikov} [Math. Res. Lett. 4, No. 1, 143--156 (1997; Zbl 0877.57001)] is sharp. As an application, he determines the maximal Thurston-Bennequin number for prime knots with \(\leq 9\) crossings, except the mirror image of the \(9_{42}\) knot in Rolfsen's table.