arXiv subjects

Lisa Traynor

Publications and source records attributed to Lisa Traynor.

15 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2024

A stable homotopy invariant for Legendrians with generating families

We construct a stable homotopy type invariant for any Legendrian submanifold in a jet bundle equipped with a linear-at-infinity generating family. We show that this spectrum lifts the generating family homology groups. When the generating family extends to a generating family for an embedded Lagrangian filling, we lift the Seidel isomorphism to the spectrum level. As applications, we establish topological constraints on Lagrangian fillings arising from generating families, algebraic constraints on whether generating families admit fillings, and lower bounds on how many fiber dimensions are needed to construct a generating family for a Legendrian.

math.SG↗

arXiv2022

Obstructions to reversing Lagrangian surgery in Lagrangian fillings

Given an immersed, Maslov-$0$, exact Lagrangian filling of a Legendrian knot, if the filling has a vanishing index and action double point, then through Lagrangian surgery it is possible to obtain a new immersed, Maslov-$0$, exact Lagrangian filling with one less double point and with genus increased by one. We show that it is not always possible to reverse the Lagrangian surgery: not every immersed, Maslov-$0$, exact Lagrangian filling with genus $g \geq 1$ and $p$ double points can be obtained from such a Lagrangian surgery on a filling of genus $g-1$ with $p+1$ double points. To show this, we establish the connection between the existence of an immersed, Maslov-$0$, exact Lagrangian filling of a Legendrian $\Lambda$ that has $p$ double points with action $0$ and the existence of an embedded, Maslov-$0$, exact Lagrangian cobordism from $p$ copies of a Hopf link to $\Lambda$. We then prove that a count of augmentations provides an obstruction to the existence of embedded, Maslov-$0$, exact Lagrangian cobordisms between Legendrian links.

math.SG↗

arXiv2021

Legendrian Torus and Cable Links

We give a classification of Legendrian torus links. Along the way, we give the first classification of infinite families of Legendrian links where some smooth symmetries of the link cannot be realized by Legendrian isotopies. We also give the first family of links that are non-destabilizable but do not have maximal Thurston-Bennequin invariant and observe a curious distribution of Legendrian torus knots that can be realized as the components of a Legendrian torus link. This classification of Legendrian torus links leads to a classification of transversal torus links. We also give a classification of Legendrian and transversal cable links of knot types that are uniformly thick and Legendrian simple. Here we see some similarities with the classification of Legendrian torus links but also some differences. In particular, we show that there are Legendrian representatives of cable links of any uniformly thick knot type for which no symmetries of the components can be realized by a Legendrian isotopy, others where only cyclic permutations of the components can be realized, and yet others where all smooth symmetries are realizable.

math.GT↗

arXiv2020

Constructions of Lagrangian cobordisms

Lagrangian cobordisms between Legendrian knots arise in Symplectic Field Theory and impose an interesting and not well-understood relation on Legendrian knots. There are some known "elementary" building blocks for Lagrangian cobordisms that are smoothly the attachment of $0$- and $1$-handles. An important question is whether every pair of non-empty Legendrians that are related by a connected Lagrangian cobordism can be related by a ribbon Lagrangian cobordism, in particular one that is "decomposable" into a composition of these elementary building blocks. We will describe these and other combinatorial building blocks as well as some geometric methods, involving the theory of satellites, to construct Lagrangian cobordisms. We will then survey some known results, derived through Heegaard Floer Homology and contact surgery, that may provide a pathway to proving the existence of nondecomposable (nonribbon) Lagrangian cobordisms.

math.SG↗

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.

math.SG↗

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.

math.SG↗

arXiv2015

Non-Orientable Lagrangian Cobordisms between Legendrian Knots

In the symplectization of standard contact $3$-space, $\mathbb R \times \mathbb R^3$, it is known that an orientable Lagrangian cobordism between a Legendrian knot and itself, also known as an orientable Lagrangian endocobordism for the Legendrian knot, must have genus $0$. We show that any Legendrian knot has a non-orientable Lagrangian endocobordism, and that the crosscap genus of such a non-orientable Lagrangian endocobordism must be a positive multiple of $4$. The more restrictive exact, non-orientable Lagrangian endocobordisms do not exist for any exactly fillable Legendrian knot but do exist for any stabilized Legendrian knot. Moreover, the relation defined by exact, non-orientable Lagrangian cobordism on the set of stabilized Legendrian knots is symmetric and defines an equivalence relation, a contrast to the non-symmetric relation defined by orientable Lagrangian cobordisms.

math.SG↗

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.

math.SG↗

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.

math.SG↗

arXiv2012

The Surgery Unknotting Number of Legendrian Links

The surgery unknotting number of a Legendrian link is defined as the minimal number of particular oriented surgeries that are required to convert the link into a Legendrian unknot. Lower bounds for the surgery unknotting number are given in terms of classical invariants of the Legendrian link. The surgery unknotting number is calculated for every Legendrian link that is topologically a twist knot or a torus link and for every positive, Legendrian rational link. In addition, the surgery unknotting number is calculated for every Legendrian knot in the Legendrian knot atlas of Chongchitmate and Ng whose underlying smooth knot has crossing number 7 or less. In all these calculations, as long as the Legendrian link of $j$ components is not topologically a slice knot, its surgery unknotting number is equal to the sum of $(j-1)$ and twice the smooth 4-ball genus of the underlying smooth link.

math.SG↗

arXiv2009

Generating family invariants for Legendrian links of unknots

Theory is developed for linear-quadratic at infinity generating families for Legendrian knots in R^3. It is shown that the unknot with maximal Thurston--Bennequin invariant of -1 has a unique linear-quadratic at infinity generating family, up to fiber-preserving diffeomorphism and stabilization. From this, invariant generating family polynomials are constructed for 2-component Legendrian links where each component is a maximal unknot. Techniques are developed to compute these polynomials, and computations are done for two families of Legendrian links: rational links and twist links. The polynomials allow one to show that some topologically equivalent links with the same classical invariants are not Legendrian equivalent. It is also shown that for these families of links the generating family polynomials agree with the polynomials arising from a linearization of the differential graded algebra associated to the links.

math.GT↗

arXiv2008

Obstructions to the Existence and Squeezing of Lagrangian Cobordisms

Capacities that provide both qualitative and quantitative obstructions to the existence of a Lagrangian cobordism between two $(n-1)$-dimensional submanifolds in parallel hyperplanes of $\mathbb{R}^{2n}$ are defined using the theory of generating families. Qualitatively, these capacities show that, for example, in $\mathbb R^4$ there is no Lagrangian cobordism between two $\infty$-shaped curves with a negative crossing when the lower end is "smaller". Quantitatively, when the boundary of a Lagrangian ball lies in a hyperplane of $\mathbb{R}^{2n}$, the capacity of the boundary gives a restriction on the size of a rectangular cylinder into which the Lagrangian ball can be squeezed.

math.SG↗

arXiv2008

A Partial Ordering on Slices of Planar Lagrangians

A collection of simple closed curves in $\rr^3$ is called a negative slice if it is the intersection of a flat-at-infinity planar Lagrangian surface and $\{y_2 = a \}$ for some $a < 0$. Examples and non-examples of negative slices are given. Embedded Lagrange cobordisms define a relation on slices and in some (and perhaps all) cases this relation defines a partial order. The set of slices is a commutative monoid and the additive structure has an interesting relationship with the ordering relation.

math.SG↗

arXiv2004

Legendrian solid-torus links

Differential graded algebra invariants are constructed for Legendrian links in the 1-jet space of the circle. In parallel to the theory for R^3, Poincare-Chekanov polynomials and characteristic algebras can be associated to such links. The theory is applied to distinguish various knots, as well as links that are closures of Legendrian versions of rational tangles. For a large number of two-component links, the Poincare-Chekanov polynomials agree with the polynomials defined through the theory of generating functions. Examples are given of knots and links which differ by an even number of horizontal flypes that have the same polynomials but distinct characteristic algebras. Results obtainable from a Legendrian satellite construction are compared to results obtainable from the DGA and generating function techniques.

math.SG↗

arXiv2001

Generating function polynomials for legendrian links

It is shown that, in the 1-jet space of the circle, the swapping and the flyping procedures, which produce topologically equivalent links, can produce nonequivalent legendrian links. Each component of the links considered is legendrian isotopic to the 1-jet of the 0-function, and thus cannot be distinguished by the classical rotation number or Thurston-Bennequin invariants. The links are distinguished by calculating invariant polynomials defined via homology groups associated to the links through the theory of generating functions. The many calculations of these generating function polynomials support the belief that these polynomials carry the same information as a refined version of Chekanov's first order polynomials which are defined via the theory of holomorphic curves.

math.GT↗