No label defined (Q4373440)

This work deals with dimension theory as described, for example, in [\textit{W. Hurewicz} and \textit{H. Wallman}, Dimension theory (1948; Zbl 0036.12501)] or [\textit{R. Engelking}, Theory of dimensions, finite and infinite, Sigma Ser. Pure Math. 10 (1995; Zbl 0872.54002)]. The spaces considered are metric and those which are subspaces of \(\mathbb{R}^n\) bear the Euclidean metric. A subset of the unit cube \(I^n\) of \(\mathbb{R}^n\) will be called transverse if it intersects both of a pair of opposite \((n-1)\)-faces of \(I^n\). The first theorem of the paper states that if \(\mathcal F\) is a finite closed cover of \(I^n\) by sets none of which is transverse, then some point of \(I^n\) lies in at least \(n+1\) of the elements of \(\mathcal F\), i.e., \(\mathcal F\) has order at least \(n\). The author states that this result is actually known, but that the present proof is believed to be new. Indeed, this is Lebesgue's Covering Theorem (on page 42 of the first reference cited above). A second theorem involves coverings of the unit ball \(B^n\): every finite closed cover of \(B^n\) by sets of diameters \(<\frac{2}{\sqrt n}\) has order at least \(n\). A question is raised whether \(\frac{2}{\sqrt n}\) is the best possible. The motivation for the paper was a question of J. Tišer which was asked in 1991. Given a metric space \(X\) and a sequence \(a_1\geq a_2\geq\dots\) of positive real numbers converging to \(0\), does there exist a \(\sigma\)-discrete open cover say \(\mathcal U=\bigcup\{\mathcal U_n \mid n\in \mathbb{N}\}\) such that for each \(n\), \(\mathcal U_n\) is discrete and each \(U\in\mathcal U_n\) has diameter less than \(a_n\)? The third theorem of the paper states that this is true if \(\dim X<\infty\). The author then explores this problem for the Hilbert cube, defines a condition called the Tišer property which would imply the existence of such a \(\mathcal U\), and then proves a pair of theorems related to this Tišer property. For the entire collection see [Zbl 0879.00049].