Browsing by Subject "math.GT"

Now showing 1 - 20 of 22
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    A complete knot invariant from contact homology
    Ekholm, T; Ng, L; Shende, V
    We construct an enhanced version of knot contact homology, and show that we can deduce from it the group ring of the knot group together with the peripheral subgroup. In particular, it completely determines a knot up to smooth isotopy. The enhancement consists of the (fully noncommutative) Legendrian contact homology associated to the union of the conormal torus of the knot and a disjoint cotangent fiber sphere, along with a product on a filtered part of this homology. As a corollary, we obtain a new, holomorphic-curve proof of a result of the third author that the Legendrian isotopy class of the conormal torus is a complete knot invariant. Furthermore, we relate the holomorphic and sheaf approaches via calculations of partially wrapped Floer homology in the spirit of [BEE12].
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    A topological introduction to knot contact homology
    (Bolyai Society Mathematical Studies, 2014-01-01) Ng, L
    This is a survey of knot contact homology, with an emphasis on topological, algebraic, and combinatorial aspects.
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    Augmentations are Sheaves
    Ng, L; Rutherford, D; Shende, V; Sivek, S; Zaslow, E
    We show that the set of augmentations of the Chekanov-Eliashberg algebra of a Legendrian link underlies the structure of a unital A-infinity category. This differs from the non-unital category constructed in [BC], but is related to it in the same way that cohomology is related to compactly supported cohomology. The existence of such a category was predicted by [STZ], who moreover conjectured its equivalence to a category of sheaves on the front plane with singular support meeting infinity in the knot. After showing that the augmentation category forms a sheaf over the x-line, we are able to prove this conjecture by calculating both categories on thin slices of the front plane. In particular, we conclude that every augmentation comes from geometry.
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    Braid Loops with infinite monodromy on the Legendrian contact DGA
    (2021-01-06) Casals, Roger; Ng, Lenhard
    We present the first examples of elements in the fundamental group of the space of Legendrian links in the standard contact 3-sphere whose action on the Legendrian contact DGA is of infinite order. This allows us to construct the first families of Legendrian links that can be shown to admit infinitely many Lagrangian fillings by Floer-theoretic techniques. These families include the first known Legendrian links with infinitely many fillings that are not rainbow closures of positive braids, and the smallest Legendrian link with infinitely many fillings known to date. We discuss how to use our examples to construct other links with infinitely many fillings, in particular giving the first Floer-theoretic proof that Legendrian (n,m) torus links have infinitely many Lagrangian fillings, if n is greater than 3 and m greater than 6, or (n,m)=(4,4),(4,5). In addition, for any given higher genus, we construct a Weinstein 4-manifold homotopic to the 2-sphere whose wrapped Fukaya category can distinguish infinitely many exact closed Lagrangian surfaces of that genus. A key technical ingredient behind our results is a new combinatorial formula for decomposable cobordism maps between Legendrian contact DGAs with integer (group ring) coefficients.
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    Harmonic Forms, Price Inequalities, and Benjamini-Schramm Convergence
    Cerbo, Luca F Di; Stern, Mark
    We study Betti numbers of sequences of Riemannian manifolds which Benjamini-Schramm converge to their universal covers. Using the Price inequalities we developed elsewhere, we derive two distinct convergence results. First, under a negative Ricci curvature assumption and no assumption on sign of the sectional curvature, we have a convergence result for weakly uniform discrete sequences of closed Riemannian manifolds. In the negative sectional curvature case, we are able to remove the weakly uniform discreteness assumption. This is achieved by combining a refined Thick-Thin decomposition together with a Moser iteration argument for harmonic forms on manifolds with boundary.
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    Higher genus knot contact homology and recursion for colored HOMFLY-PT polynomials
    Ekholm, Tobias; Ng, Lenhard
    We sketch a construction of Legendrian Symplectic Field Theory (SFT) for conormal tori of knots and links. Using large $N$ duality and Witten's connection between open Gromov-Witten invariants and Chern-Simons gauge theory, we relate the SFT of a link conormal to the colored HOMFLY-PT polynomials of the link. We present an argument that the HOMFLY-PT wave function is determined from SFT by induction on Euler characteristic, and also show how to, more directly, extract its recursion relation by elimination theory applied to finitely many noncommutative equations. The latter can be viewed as the higher genus counterpart of the relation between the augmentation variety and Gromov-Witten disk potentials established by Aganagic, Vafa, and the authors, and, from this perspective, our results can be seen as an SFT approach to quantizing the augmentation variety.
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    Hodge theory of the Goldman bracket
    (Geometry and Topology, 2020-01-01) Hain, Richard
    In this paper we show that, after completion in the I-adic topology, the Goldman bracket on the space spanned by homotopy classes of loops on a smooth, complex algebraic curve is a morphism of mixed Hodge structure. We prove similar statements for the natural action (defined by Kawazumi and Kuno) of the loops in X on paths from one "boundary component" to another. These results are used to construct torsors of isomorphisms of the the completed Goldman Lie algebra with the completion of its associated graded Lie algebra. Such splittings give torsors of partial solutions to the Kashiwara--Vergne problem (arXiv:1611.05581) in all genera. Compatibility of the cobracket with Hodge theory is established in arXiv:1807.09209.
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    Hodge Theory of the Turaev Cobracket and the Kashiwara--Vergne Problem
    (Journal of the European Mathematical Society, 2021-01-01) Hain, Richard
    In this paper we show that, after completing in the $I$-adic topology, the Turaev cobracket on the vector space freely generated by the closed geodesics on a smooth, complex algebraic curve $X$ with an algebraic framing is a morphism of mixed Hodge structure. We combine this with results of a previous paper (arXiv:1710.06053) on the Goldman bracket to construct torsors of solutions of the Kashiwara--Vergne problem in all genera. The solutions so constructed form a torsor under a prounipotent group that depends only on the topology of the framed surface. We give a partial presentation of these groups. Along the way, we give a homological description of the Turaev cobracket.
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    Knot contact homology, string topology, and the cord algebra
    (Journal de l’École polytechnique — Mathématiques, 2017) Cieliebak, K; Ekholm, T; Latschev, J; Ng, L
    The conormal Lagrangian LKof a knot K in R3is the submanifold of the cotangent bundle T∗R3consisting of covectors along K that annihilate tangent vectors to K. By intersecting with the unit cotangent bundle S∗R3, one obtains the unit conormal ΛK, and the Legendrian contact homology of ΛKis a knot invariant of K, known as knot contact homology. We define a version of string topology for strings in R3∪ LKand prove that this is isomorphic in degree 0 to knot contact homology. The string topology perspective gives a topological derivation of the cord algebra (also isomorphic to degree 0 knot contact homology) and relates it to the knot group. Together with the isomorphism this gives a new proof that knot contact homology detects the unknot. Our techniques involve a detailed analysis of certain moduli spaces of holomorphic disks in T∗R3with boundary on R3∪ LK.
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    Legendrian contact homology in R^3
    Etnyre, John B; Ng, Lenhard L
    This is an introduction to Legendrian contact homology and the Chekanov-Eliashberg differential graded algebra, with a focus on the setting of Legendrian knots in $\mathbb{R}^3$.
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    Legendrian contact homology in the boundary of a subcritical Weinstein 4-manifold
    (Journal of Differential Geometry, 2015-09) Ekholm, T; Ng, L
    We give a combinatorial description of the Legendrian contact homology algebra associated to a Legendrian link in S1× S2or any connected sum #k(S1×S2), viewed as the contact boundary of the Weinstein manifold obtained by attaching 1-handles to the 4-ball. In view of the surgery formula for symplectic homology [5], this gives a combinatorial description of the symplectic homology of any 4-dimensional Weinstein manifold (and of the linearized contact homology of its boundary). We also study examples and discuss the invariance of the Legendrian homology algebra under deformations, from both the combinatorial and the analytical perspectives.
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    Null surgery on knots in L-spaces
    Ni, Y; Vafaee, F
    Let $K$ be a knot in an L-space $Y$ with a Dehn surgery to a surface bundle over $S^1$. We prove that $K$ is rationally fibered, that is, the knot complement admits a fibration over $S^1$. As part of the proof, we show that if $K\subset Y$ has a Dehn surgery to $S^1 \times S^2$, then $K$ is rationally fibered. In the case that $K$ admits some $S^1 \times S^2$ surgery, $K$ is Floer simple, that is, the rank of $\hat{HFK}(Y,K)$ is equal to the order of $H_1(Y)$. By combining the latter two facts, we deduce that the induced contact structure on the ambient manifold $Y$ is tight. In a different direction, we show that if $K$ is a knot in an L-space $Y$, then any Thurston norm minimizing rational Seifert surface for $K$ extends to a Thurston norm minimizing surface in the manifold obtained by the null surgery on $K$ (i.e., the unique surgery on $K$ with $b_1>0$).
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    On 3-braids and L-space knots
    Lee, Christine Ruey Shan; Vafaee, Faramarz
    We classify closed 3-braids which are L-space knots.
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    On L-space knots obtained from unknotting arcs in alternating diagrams
    Donald, A; McCoy, D; Vafaee, F
    Let $D$ be a diagram of an alternating knot with unknotting number one. The branched double cover of $S^3$ branched over $D$ is an L-space obtained by half integral surgery on a knot $K_D$. We denote the set of all such knots $K_D$ by $\mathcal D$. We characterize when $K_D\in \mathcal D$ is a torus knot, a satellite knot or a hyperbolic knot. In a different direction, we show that for a given $n>0$, there are only finitely many L-space knots in $\mathcal D$ with genus less than $n$.
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    On the Betti Numbers of Finite Volume Hyperbolic Manifolds
    Cerbo, Luca F Di; Stern, Mark
    We obtain strong upper bounds for the Betti numbers of compact complex-hyperbolic manifolds. We use the unitary holonomy to improve the results given by the most direct application of the techniques of [DS17]. We also provide effective upper bounds for Betti numbers of compact quaternionic- and Cayley-hyperbolic manifolds in most degrees. More importantly, we extend our techniques to complete finite volume real- and complex-hyperbolic manifolds. In this setting, we develop new monotonicity inequalities for strongly harmonic forms on hyperbolic cusps and employ a new peaking argument to estimate $L^2$-cohomology ranks. Finally, we provide bounds on the de Rham cohomology of such spaces, using a combination of our bounds on $L^2$-cohomology, bounds on the number of cusps in terms of the volume, and the topological interpretation of reduced $L^2$-cohomology on certain rank one locally symmetric spaces.
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    On the Stein framing number of a knot
    Mark, Thomas E; Piccirillo, Lisa; Vafaee, Faramarz
    For an integer $n$, write $X_n(K)$ for the 4-manifold obtained by attaching a 2-handle to the 4-ball along the knot $K\subset S^3$ with framing $n$. It is known that if $n< \overline{\text{tb}}(K)$, then $X_n(K)$ admits the structure of a Stein domain, and moreover the adjunction inequality implies there is an upper bound on the value of $n$ such that $X_n(K)$ is Stein. We provide examples of knots $K$ and integers $n\geq \overline{\text{tb}}(K)$ for which $X_n(K)$ is Stein, answering an open question in the field. In fact, our family of examples shows that the largest framing such that the manifold $X_n(K)$ admits a Stein structure can be arbitrarily larger than $\overline{\text{tb}}(K)$. We also provide an upper bound on the Stein framings for $K$ that is typically stronger than that coming from the adjunction inequality.
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    On transverse invariants from Khovanov homology
    (Quantum Topology, 2015) Lipshitz, R; Ng, L; Sarkar, S
    © European Mathematical Society. In [31], O. Plamenevskaya associated to each transverse knot K an element of the Khovanov homology of K. In this paper, we give two re_nements of Plamenevskaya’s invariant, one valued in Bar-Natan’s deformation (from [2]) of the Khovanov complex and another as a cohomotopy element of the Khovanov spectrum (from [20]). We show that the first of these refinements is invariant under negative flypes and SZ moves; this implies that Plamenevskaya’s class is also invariant under these moves. We go on to show that for small-crossing transverse knots K, both re_nements are determined by the classical invariants of K.
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    Price Inequalities and Betti Number Growth on Manifolds without Conjugate Points
    (2017-06-01) Cerbo, Luca F Di; Stern, Mark
    We derive Price inequalities for harmonic forms on manifolds without conjugate points and with a negative Ricci upper bound. The techniques employed in the proof work particularly well for manifolds of non-positive sectional curvature, and in this case we prove a strengthened Price inequality. We employ these inequalities to study the asymptotic behavior of the Betti numbers of coverings of Riemannian manifolds without conjugate points. Finally, we give a vanishing result for $L^{2}$-Betti numbers of closed manifolds without conjugate points.
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    Representations, sheaves, and Legendrian $(2,m)$ torus links
    Chantraine, Baptiste; Ng, Lenhard; Sivek, Steven
    We study an $A_\infty$ category associated to Legendrian links in $\mathbb{R}^3$ whose objects are $n$-dimensional representations of the Chekanov-Eliashberg differential graded algebra of the link. This representation category generalizes the positive augmentation category and we conjecture that it is equivalent to a category of sheaves of microlocal rank $n$ constructed by Shende, Treumann, and Zaslow. We establish the cohomological version of this conjecture for a family of Legendrian $(2,m)$ torus links.
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    The prism manifold realization problem
    Ballinger, W; Hsu, CCY; Mackey, W; Ni, YI; Ochse, T; Vafaee, F
    The spherical manifold realization problem asks which spherical three-manifolds arise from surgeries on knots in $S^3$. In recent years, the realization problem for C, T, O, and I-type spherical manifolds has been solved, leaving the D-type manifolds (also known as the prism manifolds) as the only remaining case. Every prism manifold can be parametrized as $P(p,q)$, for a pair of relatively prime integers $p>1$ and $q$. We determine a complete list of prism manifolds $P(p, q)$ that can be realized by positive integral surgeries on knots in $S^3$ when $q<0$. The methodology undertaken to obtain the classification is similar to that of Greene for lens spaces.