arXiv subjects

Joshua M. Sabloff

Publications and source records attributed to Joshua M. Sabloff.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

An Algorithmic Search for Knots Bounding Möbius Bands in $B^4$

This study examines the smooth non-orientable $4$-genus of knots using a large-scale computational search. Knot invariant obstructions were computed, and existing computational algorithms were extended to identify prime knots in $S^3$ of crossing number at most $14$ that bound Möbius bands in $B^4$. The findings significantly expand the known examples of knots of non-orientable $4$-genus equal to $1$ and contribute new data relevant to the study of the non-orientable $4$-genus.

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arXiv2026

A Refinement of the Spanning Surface Defect in $3$ and $4$ Dimensions

The spanning surface defect uses spanning surfaces of a knot in the $3$-sphere to measure how far a knot is from being alternating. We refine the spanning surface defect and extend the definition to take into account surfaces in the $4$-ball. We use these extensions to make comparisons between the $3$- and $4$-dimensional settings, to reframe non-orientable slice-torus bounds on the non-orientable $4$-genus, and to prove a connected sum formula.

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arXiv2025

Weak Relative Calabi-Yau Structures for Legendrian Contact Homology

Legendrian Contact Homology (LCH) and its augmentations are important invariants of Legendrian submanifolds, and for Legendrian knots in the standard contact 3-space in particular. We increase understanding of the algebraic structure of LCH by generalizing the duality isomorphism and long exact sequence for linearized LCH for Legendrian knots to a weak relative Calabi-Yau structure for $A_\infty$ bimodules over the positive augmentation category.

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arXiv2023

Lagrangian Zigzag Cobordisms

We investigate an equivalence relation on Legendrian knots in the standard contact three-space defined by the existence of an interpolating zigzag of Lagrangian cobordisms. We compare this relation, restricted to genus-$0$ surfaces, to smooth concordance and Lagrangian concordance. We then study the metric monoid formed by the set of Lagrangian zigzag concordance classes, which parallels the metric group formed by the set of smooth concordance classes, proving structural results on torsion and satellite operators. Finally, we discuss the relation of Lagrangian zigzag cobordism to non-classical invariants of Legendrian knots.

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arXiv2023

On a Refinement of the Non-Orientable $4$-genus of Torus Knots

In formulating a non-orientable analogue of the Milnor Conjecture on the $4$-genus of torus knots, Batson developed an elegant construction that produces a smooth non-orientable spanning surface in $B^4$ for a given torus knot in $S^3$. While Lobb showed that Batson's surfaces do not always minimize the non-orientable $4$-genus, we prove that they always do minimize among surfaces that share their normal Euler number. We also completely determine the possible pairs of normal Euler number and first Betti number for non-orientable surfaces whose boundary lies in a class of torus knots for which Batson's surfaces are non-orientable $4$-genus minimizers.

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arXiv2022

Legendrian Satellites and Decomposable Cobordisms

We investigate the interactions between the Legendrian satellite construction and the existence of exact, orientable Lagrangian cobordisms between Legendrian knots. Given Lagrangian cobordisms between two Legendrian knots and between two Legendrian tangles, we construct a Lagrangian cobordism between Legendrian satellites of the knots by the closures of the tangles, with extra twists on both the top and the bottom satellite to compensate for the genus of the cobordism. If the original cobordisms were decomposable, then a decomposable cobordism between satellites exists as well, again with extra twists.

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arXiv2022

Non-orientable Lagrangian fillings of Legendrian knots

We investigate when a Legendrian knot in standard contact $\mathbb{R}^3$ has a non-orientable exact Lagrangian filling. We prove analogs of several results in the orientable setting, develop new combinatorial obstructions to fillability, and determine when several families of knots have such fillings. In particular, we determine completely when an alternating knot (and more generally a plus-adequate knot) is decomposably non-orientably fillable, and classify the fillability of most torus and 3-strand pretzel knots. We also describe rigidity phenomena of decomposable non-orientable fillings, including finiteness of the possible normal Euler numbers of fillings, and the minimization of crosscap numbers of fillings, obtaining results which contrast in interesting ways with the smooth setting.

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arXiv2021

Upper bounds for the Lagrangian cobordism relation on Legendrian links

Lagrangian cobordism induces a preorder on the set of Legendrian links in any contact 3-manifold. We show that any finite collection of null-homologous Legendrian links in a tight contact 3-manifold with a common rotation number has an upper bound with respect to the preorder. In particular, we construct an exact Lagrangian cobordism from each element of the collection to a common Legendrian link. This construction allows us to define a notion of minimal Lagrangian genus between any two null-homologous Legendrian links with a common rotation number.

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arXiv2018

The Relative Gromov Width of Lagrangian Cobordisms between Legendrians

We obtain upper and lower bounds for the relative Gromov width of Lagrangian cobordisms between Legendrian submanifolds. Upper bounds arise from the existence of $J$-holomorphic disks with boundary on the Lagrangian cobordism that pass through the center of any given symplectically embedded ball. The areas of these disks --- and hence the sizes of these balls --- are controlled by a real-valued fundamental capacity, a quantity derived from the algebraic structure of filtered linearized Legendrian Contact Homology of the Legendrian at the top of the cobordism. Lower bounds come from explicit constructions that use neighborhoods of Reeb chords in the Legendrian ends. We also study relationships between the relative Gromov width and another quantitative measurement, the length of a Lagrangian cobordism.

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arXiv2017

Legendrian Satellites and Decomposable Concordances

We investigate the ramifications of the Legendrian satellite construction on the relation of Lagrangian cobordism between Legendrian knots. Under a simple hypothesis, we construct a Lagrangian concordance between two Legendrian satellites by stacking up a sequence of elementary cobordisms. This construction narrows the search for "non-decomposable" Lagrangian cobordisms and yields new families of decomposable Lagrangian slice knots. Finally, we show that the maximum Thurston-Bennequin number of a smoothly slice knot provides an obstruction to any Legendrian satellite of that knot being Lagrangian slice.

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arXiv2017

Lagrangian Fillings of Legendrian $4$-Plat Knots

We characterize which Legendrian $4$-plat knots in the standard contact $3$-space have exact orientable Lagrangian fillings. As a corollary, we show that the underlying smooth knot types of fillable Legendrian $4$-plats are positive.

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arXiv2016

The Minimal Length of a Lagrangian Cobordism between Legendrians

To investigate the rigidity and flexibility of Lagrangian cobordisms between Legendrian submanifolds, we investigate the minimal length of such a cobordism, which is a $1$-dimensional measurement of the non-cylindrical portion of the cobordism. Our primary tool is a set of real-valued capacities for a Legendrian submanifold, which are derived from a filtered version of Legendrian Contact Homology. Relationships between capacities of Legendrians at the ends of a Lagrangian cobordism yield lower bounds on the length of the cobordism. We apply the capacities to Lagrangian cobordisms realizing vertical dilations (which may be arbitrarily short) and contractions (whose lengths are bounded below). We also study the interaction between length and the linking of multiple cobordisms as well as the lengths of cobordisms derived from non-trivial loops of Legendrian isotopies.

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arXiv2014

Lagrangian Cobordisms via Generating Families: Constructions and Geography

Embedded Lagrangian cobordisms between Legendrian submanifolds are produced from isotopy, spinning, and handle attachment constructions that employ the technique of generating families. Moreover, any Legendrian with a generating family has an immersed Lagrangian filling with a compatible generating family. These constructions are applied in several directions, in particular to a non-classical geography question: any graded group satisfying a duality condition can be realized as the generating family homology of a connected Legendrian submanifold in R^{2n+1} or in the 1-jet space of any compact n-manifold with n at least 2.

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arXiv2013

Families of Legendrian Submanifolds via Generating Families

We investigate families of Legendrian submanifolds of 1-jet spaces by developing and applying a theory of families of generating family homologies. This theory allows us to detect an infinite family of loops of Legendrian n-spheres embedded in the standard contact (2n+1)-space (for n>1) that are contractible in the smooth, but not Legendrian, categories.

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arXiv2013

Topologically Distinct Lagrangian and Symplectic Fillings

We construct infinitely many Legendrian links in the standard contact $\mathbb{R}^3$ with arbitrarily many topologically distinct Lagrangian fillings. The construction is used to find links in $S^3$ that bound topologically distinct pieces of algebraic curves in $B^4 \subset \mathbb{C}^2$, is applied to find contact 3-manifolds with topologically distinct symplectic fillings, and is generalized to higher dimensions.

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arXiv2013

Positive Knots and Lagrangian Fillability

This paper explores the relationship between the existence of an exact embedded Lagrangian filling for a Legendrian knot in the standard contact $\rr^3$ and the hierarchy of positive, strongly quasi-positive, and quasi-positive knots. On one hand, results of Eliashberg and especially Boileau and Orevkov show that every Legendrian knot with an exact, embedded Lagrangian filling is quasi-positive. On the other hand, we show that if a knot type is positive, then it has a Legendrian representative with an exact embedded Lagrangian filling. Further, we produce examples that show that strong quasi-positivity and fillability are independent conditions.

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arXiv2012

Obstructions to Lagrangian Cobordisms between Legendrians via Generating Families

The technique of generating families produces obstructions to the existence of embedded Lagrangian cobordisms between Legendrian submanifolds in the symplectizations of 1-jet bundles. In fact, generating families may be used to construct a TQFT-like theory that, in addition to giving the aforementioned obstructions, yield structural information about invariants of Legendrian submanifolds. For example, the obstructions devised in this paper show that there is no generating family compatible Lagrangian cobordism between the Chekanov-Eliashberg Legendrian $m(5_2)$ knots. Further, the generating family cohomology groups of a Legendrian submanifold restrict the topology of a Lagrangian filling. Structurally, the generating family cohomology of a Legendrian submanifold satisfies a type of Alexander duality that, when the Legendrian is null-cobordant, can be seen as Poincaré duality of the associated Lagrangian filling. This duality implies the Arnold Conjecture for Legendrian submanifolds with linear-at-infinity generating families. The results are obtained by developing a generating family version of wrapped Floer cohomology and establishing long exact sequences that arise from viewing the the spaces underlying these cohomology groups as mapping cones.

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arXiv2011

Rational Seifert Surfaces in Seifert Fibered Spaces

Rationally null-homologous links in Seifert fibered spaces may be represented combinatorially via labeled diagrams. We introduce an additional condition on a labeled link diagram and prove that it is equivalent to the existence of a rational Seifert surface for the link. In the case when this condition is satisfied, we generalize Seifert's algorithm to explicitly construct a rational Seifert surface for any rationally null-homologous knot. As an application of the techniques developed in the paper, we derive closed formulae for the rational Thurston-Bennequin and rotation numbers of a Legendrian knot in a contact Seifert fibered space.

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