Contact structures with distinct Heegaard-Floer invariants (Q1884484)

Let \(W\) be a compact \(4\)-manifold with boundary equipped with two Stein structures \(J_1, J_2\) with associated \({spin}^c\) structures \(s_1, s_2\). Lisca and Matic proved that if the contact structures \(\xi_1, \xi_2\) induced on \(Y= \partial W\) are isotopic then the \({spin}^c\) structures \(s_1\) and \(s_2\) are isomorphic [see \textit{P.~Lisca} and \textit{G.~Matic}, Invent. Math. 129, No. 3, 509--525 (1997; Zbl 0882.57008)]. They also gave examples of non-isotopic tight contact structures on Brieskorn homology spheres that are homotopic as plane fields. The author studies Heegaard-Floer invariants \(c(\xi)\) of contact structures \(\xi\) introduced by Ozsváth and Szabó. She shows that, under the assumptions above, if the \({spin}^c\) structures \(s_1, s_2\) are not isomorphic, then the Heegaard-Floer invariants \(c(\zeta_1)\) and \(c(\zeta_2)\) are different elements of the Heegaard-Floer homology group \(\widehat{HF}(-Y)\). In particular, this allows her to provide an alternative proof of the result of Lisca and Matic that for any \(n\) there exist \(n\) non-isotopic tight contact structures on the Brieskorn homology sphere \(\Sigma(2,3, 6n+5)\) that are homotopic as plane fields. A different new proof of this result that also uses contact invariants was obtained by Lisca and Stipsicz.