Legendrian solid-torus links (Q2386793)

The authors construct a combinatorial version of contact homology for Legendrian links in the \(1\)-jet space of the circle. This construction parallels an analogous construction of \textit{Y. Chekanov} [Invent. Math. 150, No. 3, 441--483 (2002; Zbl 1029.57011)] for Legendrian knots in \({\mathbb R}^3\) thought of as the \(1\)-jet space of the line. The construction takes place in the cotangent bundle: the contact homology algebra is generated by double points of the knot diagram in the cotangent bundle and the differential is defined by counting certain immersed disks with boundary on the knot diagram. Legendrian knots are often simpler to handle via their front projections in the \(0\)-jet space. Parallel to the first author's work in the \({\mathbb R}^3\)-case [Topology 42, No. 1, 55--82 (2003; Zbl 1032.53070)], the authors explain how to define the contact homology algebra and how to compute its differential in terms of the front projection. Invariants of Legendrian knots and links derived from the contact homology algebra are computed in several examples and compared to invariants extracted using generating function methods, see the second author's paper [Geom. Topol. 5, 719--760 (2001; Zbl 1030.53086)]. The computations lead the authors to conjecture that the two Legendrian-isotopy invariants, -- Morse-theoretic Poincaré polynomials obtained from generating functions, and -- first order Poincaré-Chekanov polynomials obtained from contact homology,\newline contain the same information.