Two-Point Distortion Theorems for Harmonic Mappings

In earlier work the authors have extended Nehari's well-known Schwarzian derivative criterion for univalence of analytic functions to a univalence criterion for canonical lifts of harmonic mappings to minimal surfaces. The present paper develops some quantitative versions of that result in the form of two-point distortion theorems. Along the way some distortion theorems for curves in ${\Bbb R}^n$ are given, thereby recasting a recent injectivity criterion of Chuaqui and Gevirtz in quantitative form.