Tilings in Lee metric (Q1003602)

The Lee metric in \(\mathbb{R}^{n}\) is given by \(d_{L}(U,V)=\sum_{i=1}^{n}|u^{i}-v_{i}|\), where \(U=(u_1, u_2, \dots, u_{n})\), \(V=(v_1, v_2, \dots, v_{n})\). This metric is frequently used in coding theory. A Lee sphere is a certain union of unit cubes. \textit{S.~Gravier, M.~Mollard} and \textit{Ch.~Payan} [Eur. J. Comb. 19, No.~5, 567--572 (1998; Zbl 0910.52019)] proved that there is no tiling of the three-dimensional space \(\mathbb{R}^3\) with Lee spheres of radius at least 2. \textit{S.~Špacapan} [Eur. J. Comb. 28, No.~1, 127--133 (2007; Zbl 1109.52015)] showed that the similar statement is true for \(\mathbb{R}^4\). In the paper under review the author introduces a new method based on the non-existence of the perfect Lee 2-error correcting codes over \(\mathbb{R}\) of block size \(n=3\), 4 and 5. The method allows to give new proofs for the three- and four-dimensional cases, as well as to extend the result to \(\mathbb{R}^5\). The results are related to the Golomb--Welch conjecture.