Covering three-tori with cubes

Abstract

Let $\mu(\varepsilon)$ be the minimum number of cubes of side $\varepsilon$ needed to cover the unit three-torus $[\mathbb{R}/\mathbb{Z}]^3$. We prove new lower and upper bounds for $\mu(\varepsilon)$ and find the exact value for all $\varepsilon\geq\frac{7}{15}$ and all $\varepsilon\in\left[\frac{1}{r+1/(r^2+r+1)},\frac{1}{r-1/(r^2-1)}\right)$ for any integer $r\geq 2$.