On some covering problems in geometry

Abstract

We present a method to obtain upper bounds on covering numbers. As applications of this method, we reprove and generalize results of Rogers on economically covering Euclidean $n$-space with translates of a convex body, or more generally, any measurable set. We obtain a bound for the density of covering the $n$-sphere by rotated copies of a spherically convex set (or, any measurable set). Using the same method, we sharpen an estimate by Artstein--Avidan and Slomka on covering a bounded set by translates of another. The main novelty of our method is that it is not probabilistic. The key idea, which makes our proofs rather simple and uniform through different settings, is an algorithmic result of Lovász and Stein.

arXiv comment9 pages. IMPORTANT CHANGE: In previous versions of the paper, the illumination problem was also considered, and I presented a construction of a body close to the Euclidean ball with high illumination number. Now, I removed this part from this manuscript and made it a separate paper, 'A Spiky Ball'. It can be found at http://arxiv.org/abs/1510.00782