Morse foliated open books and right-veering monodromies (Q6165139)

On a \(3\)-manifold with boundary \(M\), a Morse foliated open book consists of a pair \((B,\pi)\), where \(B\) is an oriented, properly embedded \(1\)-manifold, and \(\pi:M\setminus B\to S^1\) such that \(\pi\) is an \(S^1\)-valued Morse function whose critial points lie on \(\partial M\), \(\pi|_{\partial M}\) is Morse with the same critical points as \(\pi\), and \(\pi\) has a unique critical point for each critical value. The paper is devoted to illustrating the advantages of using Morse foliated open books. Following the usual Morse theory, the authors introduce preferred gradient-like vector fields, which are used to define monodromy and the concept of right-veering. The main theorem states that a contact \(3\)-manifold with a foliated boundary is overtwisted if and only if it is supported by a foliated open book that is not right-veering. For the entire collection see [Zbl 1515.57005].