Linear differential operators on contact manifolds

We consider differential operators between sections of arbitrary powers of the determinant line bundle over a contact manifold. We extend the standard notions of the Heisenberg calculus: noncommutative symbolic calculus, the principal symbol, and the contact order to such differential operators. Our first main result is an intrinsically defined subsymbol of a differential operator, which is a differential invariant of degree one lower than that of the principal symbol. In particular, this subsymbol associates a contact vector field to an arbitrary second order linear differential operator. Our second main result is the construction of a filtration that strengthens the well-known contact order filtration of the Heisenberg calculus.