Left orderable surgeries of double twist knots (Q821576)

A rational homology \(3\)-sphere \(Y\) is an L-space if its Heegaard Floer homology \(\widehat{\mathrm{HF}}(Y)\) satisfies \(\mathrm{rank}\text{ }\widehat{\mathrm{HF}}(Y)=|H_1(Y;\mathbb{Z}) |\). A nontrivial group \(G\) is left orderable if it has a total ordering which is invariant under left multiplication. \textit{S. Boyer} et al. [Math. Ann. 356, No. 4, 1213--1245 (2013; Zbl 1279.57008)] proposed the conjecture which asserts that an irreducible rational homology \(3\)-sphere is an L-space if and only if its fundamental group is not left orderable. Denote by \(K(r)\) the \(3\)-manifold obtained by \(r\)-surgery on \(K\) for a rational number (slope) \(r\). We say that \(r\) is a left orderable slope if \(K(r)\) has left orderable fundamental group. In the paper under review the author considers the double twist knots \(C(k, l)\) in the Conway notation. Since a double twist knot is alternating, the result of nontrivial surgery on \(C(k, l)\) is not an L-space except when \(k= \pm 2, l= \mp 2\) [\textit{P. Ozsváth} and \textit{Z. Szabó}, Topology 44, No. 6, 1281--1300 (2005; Zbl 1077.57012)]. In these exceptional cases \(C(2, -2)\) is the \((2, 3)\)-torus knot (resp. \(C(-2, 2)\) is the \((-2, 3)\)-torus knot), for which \(r\)-surgery yields an L-space if and only if \(r\) is a rational number in \([1, \infty)\) (resp. \((-\infty, -1] \)) or \(r = \infty\). Thus for double twist knots other than trefoil knots, every slope \(r \in \mathbb{Q}\) is expected to be a left orderable slope. The author proves that if \(K\) is a double twist knot of the form \(C(2m, -2n)\), \(C(2m + 1, 2n)\) or \(C(2m + 1, -2k)\) for some positive integers \(m, n\) and \(k\) \((k \ge 2)\), then any rational number \(r \in (-\infty, 1), (-\infty, 2n-1)\), or \((3-2k, \infty)\) is a left orderable slope, respectively.