On transverse-universality of twist knots

Abstract

In the search for transverse-universal knots in the standard contact structure on $\mathbb{S}^3$, we present a classification of the transverse twist knots with maximal self-linking number, that admit only overtwisted contact branched covers. As a direct consequence, we obtain an infinite family of transverse knots in $(\mathbb{S}^3,\xi_{std})$ that are not transverse-universal, although they are universal in the topological sense.