A short proof of Bernstein's theorem via the Omori--Yau maximum principle

Abstract

We give a short, self-contained proof of Bernstein's theorem: every entire minimal graph in $R^3$ is a plane. The only global tool is the Omori-Yau maximum principle, which holds on entire minimal graphs with their induced metric. We apply it exactly once to a single explicit function $F$ built from the surface's angle function and principal curvatures. A pointwise differential inequality for $F$, combined with the Omori-Yau principle, forces it to attain its minimum value everywhere, which yields the planarity of the surface and hence Bernstein's theorem. As a by-product of our approach, we show that the same method, with a different function and with some extra work, also proves in a simple and self-contained way the generalization of Bernstein's theorem given by Osserman that a complete minimal surface in $R^3$ whose normals omit a neighbourhood of some direction must be a plane.

arXiv comment11 pages. New version including new Remark 3.4 (about Simons' formula) and new Remark 5.1 (about the choice of the functions f and F)