Let and . We use these precise Bessel process facts, which the question permits: for dimension a process started at exists for all time, never reaches zero, and has a strictly positive all-time minimum. More quantitatively,
No assertion about SLE simplicity or transience is being assumed.
For a real point before its Loewner lifetime, set . Its equation is
Thus is a Bessel process of dimension . For each rational it stays positive on every finite interval, almost surely. These countably many events hold together. They cover every real as well: choose rational and observe that the noise cancels in the difference,
Consequently cannot reach zero while remains positive. The negative side has the identical argument with the reflected Brownian motion.
This excludes Loewner trace contact with every real point other than zero, rather than just with each fixed rational point. On any finite interval a positive gap at a real point stays bounded away from zero. Continuous dependence of the Chordal Loewner equation then solves it on a complex neighborhood of that point, and the analytic flow extends the map conformally across a real interval there. Its real derivative is , and its image stays away from the driving point. The Loewner trace tip therefore cannot be there. We have proved .
Now use Brownian motion independent increments to restart at every deterministic rational time . The centered future maps have Loewner driver and therefore the original SLE law, independently of the past. Its Loewner trace stays in by the preceding argument. The inverse map extends continuously to the real boundary for a continuous trace-generated compact H-hull: the finite Loewner trace gives a locally connected boundary, and the Caratheodory boundary extension theorem applies. Its value at is . Thus the future in the original plane can meet only at . All these restart conclusions hold simultaneously for rational .
Suppose with . The Loewner trace cannot be constant throughout , since its compact H-hull capacity increases strictly. By continuity there is a rational with . But lies in , contradicting the restart conclusion at . This also excludes any return to the starting point. Hence the Loewner trace is simple and lies in the open complex upper half-plane at every positive time.
For transience, first strengthen the boundary conclusion to avoidance of the closure at each fixed real point. Fix and . If the now-simple curve first enters the closed half-disc of radius about at time , join its tip to by the segment inside that disc. Before the segment misses the Loewner trace. Together with the Loewner trace and the real interval from zero to , it bounds a pocket whose boundary includes the positive side of the Loewner trace and . A Brownian motion path from high on the imaginary axis reaching that boundary arc must enter the pocket through the segment. The maximum principle for harmonic functions bounds its harmonic measure by the chance of hitting the entire half-disc.
The boundary arc maps under to . Its harmonic measure from , as , is
The half-disc maps out by ; its semicircle becomes an interval of length . Its harmonic measure has asymptotic . Comparing and letting yields
But by the all-time minimum of a transient Bessel process fact. The curve cannot enter any such disc with . Therefore it stays a strictly positive distance from for all time. Reflection proves the same for fixed . This is the boundary approach forces a small SLE Bessel gap argument; the crosscut comparison is also described in the boundary-closure lemma in the primary SLE paper.
Map out the simple initial slit at time one. The starting point zero has two distinct real prime end images under , lying on opposite sides of . Conditionally on the initial slit, the image future is a fresh independent SLE translated by . The just-proved fixed-point closure avoidance applies to each of and . Therefore neither nor lies in the closure of the mapped future. If a sequence of future Loewner trace points approached zero in the original domain, their images would approach one of these two prime ends. This is impossible. Thus
Finally Scaling invariance of SLE gives . For every fixed ,
The events of returning to the closed radius- disc after time decrease as increases. Continuity of probability on decreasing events implies that the probability of returns at arbitrarily late times is zero. Taking the countable intersection over positive integer proves
This proves actual eventual escape, not merely unboundedness of the growing compact H-hulls.
Transience of chordal SLE Created 2026-09-28 Updated 2026-10-14
The chordal SLE Loewner trace eventually leaves every bounded subset of the complex upper half-plane. For , its time-one compact H-hull is a simple slit and does not contain a half-disc. Instead, the boundary approach forces a small SLE Bessel gap estimate shows that every fixed nonzero real point is outside the closure of the full Loewner trace. After mapping out the initial simple slit, the starting point has two distinct real prime end images. A fresh independent SLE avoids approaching either image, so the original future stays a positive distance from its starting point. Scaling invariance of SLE gives , and decreasing-event continuity proves escape from every fixed disc. The separate argument based on a swallowed half-disc at positive time applies in the nonsimple regime ; it must not be applied to a simple slit. The critical parameters require their own limiting or trace-existence arguments.