A note on Reeb dynamics on the tight 3-sphere (Q2474579)

In this note the authors obtain the following nice result: the Reeb vector field of a tight and dynamically convex contact 1-form \(\lambda\) on \(S^3\) has exactly two simple periodic orbits if and only if the differential vanishes in the linearized contact homology of \(S^3\). Moreover, in this case these two periodic orbits are unknotted, elliptic with linking number \(1\), and their Conley-Zehnder indices agree with those of a suitable rational ellipsoid. A contact form \(\lambda\) is called dynamically convex if all closed Reeb orbits are nondegenerate (in the sense that no eigenvalue of the linearized return map on a transverse section equals \(1\)) and have Conley-Zehnder index at least \(3\). For such a contact form \(\lambda\) on \(S^3\) and an \({\mathbb R}\)-invariant almost complex structure \(J\) on \({\mathbb R}\times S^3\) compatible with \(\lambda\), the authors follow the SFT framework introduced by \textit{Y. M. Eliashberg, A. B. Givental} and \textit{H. H. W. Hofer} [in: Alon, N. (ed.) et al., GAFA 2000. Visions in mathematics--Towards 2000. Proceedings of a meeting, Tel Aviv, Israel, August 25-September 3, 1999. Part II. Basel: Birkhäuser, 560--673 (2000; Zbl 0989.81114)] to construct a chain complex with \({\mathbb Q}\)-coefficients and to prove that the homology of the complex, the linearized contact homology \(HC^{\text{lin}}(S^3)\), is independent of the choice of \(J\) and of \(\lambda\). They calculate that \(HC_k^{\text{lin}}(S^3)={\mathbb Q}\) for \(k\geq 2\) even, and vanishes otherwise. With this and a careful investigation for the relation between the actions of the closed Reeb orbits and their Conley-Zehnder indices, the main result is achieved.