Legendrian and transverse twist knots (Q1949971)

This paper deals with Legendrian and transverse knots in \(\mathbb R^3\) with the standard contact structure \(\xi_{st}=\ker(dz-ydx)\). A twist knot is a twisted Whitehead double of the unknot. If Legendrian knots in a given topological knot type are determined up to Legendrian isotopy by their classical invariants, namely their Thurston-Bennequin and rotation numbers, then the knot type is said to be Legendrian simple; otherwise it is Legendrian nonsimple. \textit{Y.~Chekanov} [Invent. Math. 150, No. 3, 441--483 (2002; Zbl 1029.57011)] and, independently, \textit{Y.~Eliashberg} [Doc. Math., J. DMV, Extra Vol. ICM Berlin 1998, vol. II, 327--338 (1998; Zbl 0913.53010)] developed invariants of Legendrian knots that show that \(K_{-4}=m(5_2)\) has Legendrian representatives that are not determined by their classical invariants, providing the first example of a Legendrian nonsimple knot. Shortly thereafter, \textit{J.~Epstein, D.~Fuchs} and \textit{M.~Meyer} [Pac. J. Math. 201, No. 1, 89--106 (2001; Zbl 1049.57005)] generalized the result of Chekanov and Eliashberg to show that \(K_m\) is Legendrian nonsimple for all \(m\leq -4\), and in fact that these knot types contain an arbitrarily large number of Legendrian knots with the same classical invariants. In this paper, the authors obtain a complete classification of Legendrian and transverse representatives of twist knots. They show that that \(K_{-2n}\) has exactly \(\lceil\frac{n^2}2\rceil\) Legendrian representatives with maximal Thurston-Bennequin number, and \(\lceil\frac{n}{2}\rceil\) transverse representatives with maximal self-linking number. The authors use various techniques including convex surface theory, Legendrian ruling invariants, and Heegaard Floer homology.