Inhomogeneous extreme forms (Q1948155)

\textit{G. Voronoi} [J. Reine Angew. Math. 133, 97--178 (1908; JFM 38.0261.01)] gave a characterisation of the local maxima of the Hermite invariant (related to the sphere packing density) as those lattices that are perfect and eutactic. The authors develop a similar characterization for the inhomogenous Hermite invariant, and hence for the local maxima of the sphere covering thickness. Note that for applications, one is usually interested in the local minima of the covering thickness. The main result is that a lattice \(L\) realises a local maximum of the sphere covering thickness, if and only if it is inhomogenous perfect and inhomogenous eutactic, where inhomogenous perfection and eutaxie are defined by the geometry of the lattice vectors Min\(_c(L)\) that are closest to the deep holes \(c\) of \(L\). Up to the action of the integral affine group, there are only finitely many inhomogenous perfect quadratic forms in every dimension. It has been shown by \textit{R. Erdahl} [Discrete Comput. Geom. 8, No. 4, 387--416 (1992; Zbl 0773.11042)], that there are no inhomogenous perfect forms in dimension 2-5, there is a unique such form in dimension 6 and 2 inhomogenous perfect forms in dimension 7. In dimension 8 one knows 27 inhomogenous perfect forms and in dimension 9 more than 100.000. This characterisation á la Voronoi reveals a very nice analogy between packing and covering maxima. The authors continue by introducing the inhomogenous analogue of strongly perfect lattices, as those where Min\(_c(L)\) carries a spherical 4-design for all deep holes \(c\) of \(L\). The authors show that inhomogenous strongly perfect lattices are inhomogenous perfect and eutactic and hence realise a local maximum of the covering thickness. The lattices \(E_6\), \(E_7\) and \(BW_{16}\) are inhomogenous strongly perfect whereas \(E_8\) and \(K_{12}\) are not even inhomogenous perfect. In fact these two lattices realise \textit{covering pessima}, i.e., the set of all perturbations in which the covering density decreases has measure zero.