On the bore radius for minimal surfaces (Q1360826)

\textit{D. Hoffman} and \textit{W. H. Meeks} [Ann. Math. 131, 1-34 (1990; Zbl 0695.53004)] announced a theorem on ``half-space''. According to this theorem, the only possible minimal surface properly immersed in \(\mathbb{R}^3\) and contained in a certain half-space \(\mathbb{R}^3_+\) is the plane. It is also well-known that in \(\mathbb{R}^{p+1}\), \(p\geq 3\), there exist nontrivial properly immersed hypersurfaces that are located in the layer between two parallel hyperplanes. For example, see the above mentioned paper of Hoffman and Meeks and [\textit{U. Dierkes}, Manuscr. Math. 69, 203-218 (1990; Zbl 0709.53043)]. In [\textit{A. D. Vedenyapin} and \textit{V. M. Miklyukov}, Math. USSR, Sb. 59, 237-245 (1988; Zbl 0639.53007), \textit{V. M. Miklyukov} and \textit{V. G. Tkachev}, ibid. 68, 133-150 (1990; Zbl 0714.53038), \textit{V. A. Klyachin}, Sib. Mat. J. 33, 928-931 (1992; Zbl 0785.53053) and \textit{V. G. Tkachev}, VINITI No. 2031-B92], it was shown that for \(p\geq 3\) this property holds for any minimal surface of arbitrary codimension all of whose sections by a sheaf of parallel hypersurfaces are compact sets. Furthermore, in the same papers, the width \(\Delta\) of the layer was estimated in terms of the minimal radius \(r\) of the ball circumscribed about these sections: \(\Delta\leq 2c_pr\), where \(c_p=\int_1^{\infty}\frac{dt}{\sqrt{t^{2p}-1}}\). In the paper under review, the author proves a theorem that is in a certain sense the converse to the above result: Suppose that \({\mathcal M}\) is a \(p\)-dimensional properly immersed connected minimal hypersurface lying in a parallel hyperlayer of width \(\Delta\). Suppose also that an open ball of radius \(R\) can go through the projection of \(\mathcal{M}\) on the boundary hyperplanes of the layer. Then \(R \leq\frac{\Delta}{2c_p}\), where \(c_p\) is the constant defined above.