Two-dimensional disjoint minimal graphs (Q448925)

The author confirms Meeks' conjecture about the number of surfaces which are disjointly supported minimal graphs in \(\mathbb R^3\). In particular, under the assumption that the Gaussian curvature of each graph vanishes at infinity, i.e., that graphs are asymptotically flat, the author proves that this number is at most 2, as it was conjectured by W. H. Meeks. Furthermore, using similar techniques the author shows that the same conclusion holds when each graph has sublinear growth. As main tools in the proofs some suitable asymptotic estimates are used. Particularly, estimates for the areas of minimal graphs and estimates for the lengths of intersections of minimal graphs with sufficiently large spheres are derived and applied.