Univalence Criteria for Lifts of Harmonic Mappings to Minimal Surfaces

A general criterion in terms of the Schwarzian derivative is given for global univalence of the Weierstrass--Enneper lift of a planar harmonic mapping. Results on distortion and boundary regularity are also deduced. Examples are given to show that the criterion is sharp. The analysis depends on a generalized Schwarzian defined for conformal metrics and on a Schwarzian introduced by Ahlfors for curves. Convexity plays a central role.