Let $X$ be a compact metric space. A lower bound for the radius of comparison of the C*-algebra $\operatorname{C}(X)$ is given in terms of $\operatorname{dim}_{\mathbb{Q}} X$, where $\operatorname{dim}_{\mathbb{Q}} X $ is the cohomological dimension with rational coefficients. If $\operatorname{dim}_{\mathbb{Q}} X =\operatorname{dim} X=d$, then the radius of comparison of the C*-algebra $\operatorname{C}(X)$ is $\max\{0, (d-1)/2-1\}$ if $d$ is odd, and must be either $d/2-1$ or $d/2-2$ if $d$ is even (the possibility of $d/2-1$ does occur, but we do not know if the possibility of $d/2-2$ also can occur).

e prove that, given any covering of any infinite-dimensional Hilbert space $H$ by countably many closed balls, some point exists in $H$ which belongs to infinitely many balls. We do that by characterizing isomorphically polyhedral separable Banach spaces as those whose unit sphere admits a point-finite covering by the union of countably many slices of the unit ball.

We investigate the following version of the circle covering problem in strictly convex (normed or) Minkowski planes: to cover a circle of largest possible diameter by $k$ unit circles. In particular, we study the cases $k=3$, $k=4$, and $k=7$. For $k=3$ and $k=4$, the diameters under consideration are described in terms of side-lengths and circumradii of certain inscribed regular triangles or quadrangles. This yields also simple explanations of geometric meanings that the corresponding homothety ratios have. It turns out that basic notions from Minkowski geometry play an essential role in our proofs, namely Minkowskian bisectors, $d$-segments, and the monotonicity lemma.

We study Calabi--Yau manifolds constructed as double coverings of $\mathbb{P}^3$ branched along an octic surface. We give a list of 87 examples corresponding to arrangements of eight planes defined over $\mathbb{Q}$. The Hodge numbers are computed for all examples. There are 10 rigid Calabi--Yau manifolds and 14 families with $h^{1,2}=1$. The modularity conjecture is verified for all the rigid examples.

This paper characterizes when a Delone set $X$ in $\mathbb{R}^n$ is an ideal crystal in terms of restrictions on the number of its local patches of a given size or on the heterogeneity of their distribution. For a Delone set $X$, let $N_X (T)$ count the number of translation-inequivalent patches of radius $T$ in $X$ and let $M_X(T)$ be the minimum radius such that every closed ball of radius $M_X(T)$ contains the center of a patch of every one of these kinds. We show that for each of these functions there is a ``gap in the spectrum'' of possible growth rates between being bounded and having linear growth, and that having sufficiently slow linear growth is equivalent to $X$ being an ideal crystal. Explicitly, for $N_X(T)$, if $R$ is the covering radius of $X$ then either $N_X(T)$ is bounded or $N_X (T) \ge T/2R$ for all $T>0$. The constant $1/2R$ in this bound is best possible in all dimensions. For $M_X(T)$, either $M_X(T)$ is bounded or $M_X(T)\ge T/3$ for all $T>0$. Examples show that the constant $1/3$ in this bound cannot be replaced by any number exceeding $1/2$. We also show that every aperiodic Delone set $X$ has $M_X(T)\ge c(n) T$ for all $T>0$, for a certain constant $c(n)$ which depends on the dimension $n$ of $X$ and is $>1/3$ when $n>1$.

In a study of the word problem for groups, R.~J.~Thompson considered a certain group $F$ of self-homeomorphisms of the Cantor set and showed, among other things, that $F$ is finitely presented. Using results of K.~S.~Brown and R.~Geoghegan, M.~N.~Dyer showed that $F$ is the fundamental group of a finite two-complex $Z^2$ having Euler characteristic one and which is {\em Cockcroft}, in the sense that each map of the two-sphere into $Z^2$ is homologically trivial. We show that no proper covering complex of $Z^2$ is Cockcroft. A general result on Cockcroft properties implies that no proper regular covering complex of any finite two-complex with fundamental group $F$ is Cockcroft.

Let $A$ be a finite abelian group and $M$ be a branched cover of an homology $3$-sphere, branched over a link $L$, with covering group $A$. We show that $H_1(M;Z[1/|A|])$ is determined as a $Z[1/|A|][A]$-module by the Alexander ideals of $L$ and certain ideal class invariants.