Hopf orbits and the first ECH capacity

Abstract

We consider dynamically convex star-shaped domains in a symplectic vector space of dimension $4$. For such a domain, a ``Hopf orbit'' is a closed characteristic in the boundary which is unknotted and has self-linking number $-1$. We show that the minimum action among Hopf orbits exists and defines a symplectic capacity for dynamically convex star-shaped domains. We further show that this capacity agrees with the first ECH capacity for such domains. Combined with a result of Edtmair, this implies that for dynamically convex star-shaped domains in four dimensions, the first ECH capacity agrees with the cylinder capacity. This also provides a method to show that the first ECH capacity of a dynamically convex star-shaped domain satisfies the axioms of a normalized symplectic capacity without any need for Seiberg-Witten theory.