Some existence and nonexistence theorems for compact graphs of constant mean curvature with boundary in parallel planes. (Q1608510)

The authors study the existence and the non-existence problem of compact constant mean curvature surfaces in Euclidean three-space with boundaries in two parallel planes which are given as graphs over these planes. After proving an existence theorem for minimal graphs with boundary in parallel planes under certain assumptions on the distance of the planes and on the properties of the boundary curves, they focus on solving the problem of determining the existence of a constant \(h\) for \(H >0\), such that a certain Dirichlet problem is solvable for two parallel closed convex curves under various assumptions on the geometry of the curves, the distance between them and the choice of \(H\).