Contact surgeries on Legendrian figure-eight knots (Q2336019)

If there exists a globally defined 1-form \(\alpha\) on a smooth 3-manifold \(M\) such that \(\alpha\wedge d\alpha\ne 0\), then a contact structure on a smooth 3-manifold \(M\) is a completely non-integrable 2-plane field \(\xi\subset TM\). An embedded disc \(D\to M\) in a contact manifold \((M,\xi)\) is called overtwisted if \(T_pD=\xi(p)\) for all points \(p\in\partial D\). A contact structure is tight if there is no overtwisted disc, otherwise it is overtwisted. In [Ann. Math. (2) 182, No. 2, 723--738 (2015; Zbl 1364.57022)], \textit{A. Wand} showed that for any tight contact manifold, the result of negative contact surgery on any Legendrian knot is a tight contact manifold. Most of the results for positive contact surgery prove tightness using various flavors of Heegaard Floer homology. The non-vanishing of the Heegaard Floer contact class shows that a contact manifold is tight. In [Pac. J. Math. 228, No. 2, 277--295 (2006; Zbl 1172.57012)], \textit{P. Lisca} and \textit{A. Stipsicz} showed that there exists a configuration in the front projection of a Legendrian knot that ensures contact \((+1)\)-surgery on the knot is overtwisted. In [J. Symplectic Geom. 1, No. 1, 63--120 (2001; Zbl 1037.57021)], \textit{J. B. Etnyre} and \textit{K. Honda} gave the classification of Legendrian figure-eight knots in \((S^3,\xi_{\text{std}})\) and they proved that all such Legendrian knots are classified up to isotopy by their Thurston-Bennequin number \((\mathsf{tb})\) and rotation class \((\mathsf{rot})\), and that all such knots destabilize to a Legendrian knot with \(\mathsf{tb}=-3\) and \(\mathsf{rot= 0}\). In this paper, the author shows that the results of all positive contact surgeries on any Legendrian figure-eight knot in \((S^3,\xi_{\text{std}})\) are overtwisted. The proof uses convex surface theory and invariants from Heegaard Floer homology.