When is the ball a local pessimum for covering? (Q2354681)

The paper addresses the problem of identifying the worst point-symmetric shape for covering \(n\)-dimensional Euclidean space with lattice translates. It is shown that the ball is a local pessimum in dimension \(n=3\), and extensible for dimensions \(n=4\) and \(n=5\). One of the main results is given by the following Theorem: There exists \(\epsilon>0\) such that if a convex body \(K\) is a non-ellipsoidal origin-symmetric convex body and \((1-\epsilon)B^3 \subseteq K \subseteq (1+\epsilon)B^3\), then \(\vartheta(K)< \vartheta(B^3)\). In this theorem, \(B^3\) is the unit \(3\)-dimensional ball and \(\vartheta(K)\) is the optimal covering fraction for \(K\). The author also proposes the following Conjecture: For all origin-symmetric convex bodies \(K\subseteq {\mathbb R}^3\) that are not ellipsoids, \(\vartheta(K)< \vartheta(B^3)\).