 Boundary approach forces a small SLE Bessel gap

For $0<\kappa <4$ and $x>0$, stop the simple chordal SLE trace on first entering the radius-$r$ half-disc about $x$, with $r<x/4$. A crosscut from its tip to $x$ separates the positive-side boundary arc containing $x/2$ from infinity. Harmonic measure comparison with the half-disc bounds the length of that arc's mapped interval, $g_t(x/2)-{\xi }_t$, by a universal constant times $r$. This centered boundary image is a positive Bessel process of dimension $1+4/\kappa >2$ and has a strictly positive all-time minimum. Hence the full trace stays a positive distance from each fixed nonzero real point. Reflection gives the negative-side version.