This book provides an in-depth discussion of the theory of finite packings and coverings by convex bodies.

Professor Rogers has written this economical and logical exposition of the theory of packing and covering at a time when the simplest general results are known and future progress seems likely to depend on detailed and complicated technical developments. The book treats mainly problems in n-dimensional space, where n is larger than 3. The approach is quantative and many estimates for packing and covering densities are obtained. The introduction gives a historical outline of the subject, stating results without proof, and the succeeding chapters contain a systematic account of the general results and their derivation. Some of the results have immediate applications in the theory of numbers, in analysis and in other branches of mathematics, while the quantative approach may well prove to be of increasing importance for further developments.

Sphere packings is one of the most fascinating and challenging subjects in mathematics. In the course of centuries, many exciting results have been obtained, ingenious methods created, related challenging problems proposed, and many surprising connections with other subjects found. This book gives a full account of this fascinating subject, especially its local aspects, discrete aspects, and its proof methods. The book includes both classical and contemporary results and provides a full treatment of the subject.

New and elegant proofs of classical results and makes difficult results accessible.

Publisher Description

Handbook of Convex Geometry, Volume B offers a survey of convex geometry and its many ramifications and connections with other fields of mathematics, including convexity, lattices, crystallography, and convex functions. The selection first offers information on the geometry of numbers, lattice points, and packing and covering with convex sets. Discussions focus on packing in non-Euclidean spaces, problems in the Euclidean plane, general convex bodies, computational complexity of lattice point problem, centrally symmetric convex bodies, reduction theory, and lattices and the space of lattices. The text then examines finite packing and covering and tilings, including plane tilings, monohedral tilings, bin packing, and sausage problems. The manuscript takes a look at valuations and dissections, geometric crystallography, convexity and differential geometry, and convex functions. Topics include differentiability, inequalities, uniqueness theorems for convex hypersurfaces, mixed discriminants and mixed volumes, differential geometric characterization of convexity, reduction of quadratic forms, and finite groups of symmetry operations. The selection is a dependable source of data for mathematicians and researchers interested in convex geometry.