|
Poset
In mathematics, especially order theory, a partially ordered set (also poset) formalizes and generalizes the intuitive concept of an ordering, sequencing, or arrangement of the elements of a set. A poset consists of a set together with a binary relation indicating that, for certain pairs of elements in the set, one of the elements precedes the other in the ordering. The relation itself is called a "partial order." The word ''partial'' in the names "partial order" and "partially ordered set" is used as an indication that not every pair of elements needs to be comparable. That is, there may be pairs of elements for which neither element precedes the other in the poset. Partial orders thus generalize total orders, in which every pair is comparable. Informal definition A partial order defines a notion of comparison. Two elements ''x'' and ''y'' may stand in any of four mutually exclusive relationships to each other: either ''x'' ''y'', or ''x'' and ''y'' are ''incompa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Order Theory
Order theory is a branch of mathematics that investigates the intuitive notion of order using binary relations. It provides a formal framework for describing statements such as "this is less than that" or "this precedes that". This article introduces the field and provides basic definitions. A list of order-theoretic terms can be found in the order theory glossary. Background and motivation Orders are everywhere in mathematics and related fields like computer science. The first order often discussed in primary school is the standard order on the natural numbers e.g. "2 is less than 3", "10 is greater than 5", or "Does Tom have fewer cookies than Sally?". This intuitive concept can be extended to orders on other sets of numbers, such as the integers and the reals. The idea of being greater than or less than another number is one of the basic intuitions of number systems (compare with numeral systems) in general (although one usually is also interested in the actual diffe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hasse Diagram
In order theory, a Hasse diagram (; ) is a type of mathematical diagram used to represent a finite partially ordered set, in the form of a drawing of its transitive reduction. Concretely, for a partially ordered set ''(S, ≤)'' one represents each element of ''S'' as a vertex in the plane and draws a line segment or curve that goes ''upward'' from ''x'' to ''y'' whenever ''y'' ≠ ''x'' and ''y'' covers ''x'' (that is, whenever ''x'' ≤ ''y'' and there is no ''z'' such that ''x'' ≤ ''z'' ≤ ''y''). These curves may cross each other but must not touch any vertices other than their endpoints. Such a diagram, with labeled vertices, uniquely determines its partial order. The diagrams are named after Helmut Hasse (1898–1979); according to , they are so called because of the effective use Hasse made of them. However, Hasse was not the first to use these diagrams. One example that predates Hasse can be found in . Although Hasse diagrams were originally devised as a technique fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Greater Than
In mathematics, an inequality is a relation which makes a non-equal comparison between two numbers or other mathematical expressions. It is used most often to compare two numbers on the number line by their size. There are several different notations used to represent different kinds of inequalities: * The notation ''a'' ''b'' means that ''a'' is greater than ''b''. In either case, ''a'' is not equal to ''b''. These relations are known as strict inequalities, meaning that ''a'' is strictly less than or strictly greater than ''b''. Equivalence is excluded. In contrast to strict inequalities, there are two types of inequality relations that are not strict: * The notation ''a'' ≤ ''b'' or ''a'' ⩽ ''b'' means that ''a'' is less than or equal to ''b'' (or, equivalently, at most ''b'', or not greater than ''b''). * The notation ''a'' ≥ ''b'' or ''a'' ⩾ ''b'' means that ''a'' is greater than or equal to ''b'' (or, equivalently, at least ''b'', or not less than ''b''). The re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Less Than
In mathematics, an inequality is a relation which makes a non-equal comparison between two numbers or other mathematical expressions. It is used most often to compare two numbers on the number line by their size. There are several different notations used to represent different kinds of inequalities: * The notation ''a'' ''b'' means that ''a'' is greater than ''b''. In either case, ''a'' is not equal to ''b''. These relations are known as strict inequalities, meaning that ''a'' is strictly less than or strictly greater than ''b''. Equivalence is excluded. In contrast to strict inequalities, there are two types of inequality relations that are not strict: * The notation ''a'' ≤ ''b'' or ''a'' ⩽ ''b'' means that ''a'' is less than or equal to ''b'' (or, equivalently, at most ''b'', or not greater than ''b''). * The notation ''a'' ≥ ''b'' or ''a'' ⩾ ''b'' means that ''a'' is greater than or equal to ''b'' (or, equivalently, at least ''b'', or not less than ''b''). The r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Transitive Relation
In mathematics, a relation on a set is transitive if, for all elements , , in , whenever relates to and to , then also relates to . Each partial order as well as each equivalence relation needs to be transitive. Definition A homogeneous relation on the set is a ''transitive relation'' if, :for all , if and , then . Or in terms of first-order logic: :\forall a,b,c \in X: (aRb \wedge bRc) \Rightarrow aRc, where is the infix notation for . Examples As a non-mathematical example, the relation "is an ancestor of" is transitive. For example, if Amy is an ancestor of Becky, and Becky is an ancestor of Carrie, then Amy, too, is an ancestor of Carrie. On the other hand, "is the birth parent of" is not a transitive relation, because if Alice is the birth parent of Brenda, and Brenda is the birth parent of Claire, then this does not imply that Alice is the birth parent of Claire. What is more, it is antitransitive: Alice can ''never'' be the birth parent of Claire. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Identity Relation
In mathematics, a homogeneous relation (also called endorelation) over a set ''X'' is a binary relation over ''X'' and itself, i.e. it is a subset of the Cartesian product . This is commonly phrased as "a relation on ''X''" or "a (binary) relation over ''X''". An example of a homogeneous relation is the relation of kinship, where the relation is over people. Common types of endorelations include orders, graphs, and equivalences. Specialized studies order theory and graph theory have developed understanding of endorelations. Terminology particular for graph theory is used for description, with an ordinary graph presumed to correspond to a symmetric relation, and a general endorelation corresponding to a directed graph. An endorelation ''R'' corresponds to a logical matrix of 0s and 1s, where the expression ''xRy'' corresponds to an edge between ''x'' and ''y'' in the graph, and to a 1 in the square matrix of ''R''. It is called an adjacency matrix in graph terminology. Particular ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Set Subtraction
In set theory, the complement of a set , often denoted by (or ), is the set of elements not in . When all sets in the universe, i.e. all sets under consideration, are considered to be members of a given set , the absolute complement of is the set of elements in that are not in . The relative complement of with respect to a set , also termed the set difference of and , written B \setminus A, is the set of elements in that are not in . Absolute complement Definition If is a set, then the absolute complement of (or simply the complement of ) is the set of elements not in (within a larger set that is implicitly defined). In other words, let be a set that contains all the elements under study; if there is no need to mention , either because it has been previously specified, or it is obvious and unique, then the absolute complement of is the relative complement of in : A^\complement = U \setminus A. Or formally: A^\complement = \. The absolute complement of is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Irreflexive Kernel
In mathematics, a binary relation ''R'' on a set ''X'' is reflexive if it relates every element of ''X'' to itself. An example of a reflexive relation is the relation " is equal to" on the set of real numbers, since every real number is equal to itself. A reflexive relation is said to have the reflexive property or is said to possess reflexivity. Along with symmetry and transitivity, reflexivity is one of three properties defining equivalence relations. Definitions Let R be a binary relation on a set X, which by definition is just a subset of X \times X. For any x, y \in X, the notation x R y means that (x, y) \in R while "not x R y" means that (x, y) \not\in R. The relation R is called if x R x for every x \in X or equivalently, if \operatorname_X \subseteq R where \operatorname_X := \ denotes the identity relation on X. The of R is the union R \cup \operatorname_X, which can equivalently be defined as the smallest (with respect to \subseteq) reflexive relation on X ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reflexive Closure
In mathematics, the reflexive closure of a binary relation ''R'' on a set ''X'' is the smallest reflexive relation on ''X'' that contains ''R''. For example, if ''X'' is a set of distinct numbers and ''x R y'' means "''x'' is less than ''y''", then the reflexive closure of ''R'' is the relation "''x'' is less than or equal to ''y''". Definition The reflexive closure ''S'' of a relation ''R'' on a set ''X'' is given by :S = R \cup \left\ In English, the reflexive closure of ''R'' is the union of ''R'' with the identity relation on ''X''. Example As an example, if :X = \left\ :R = \left\ then the relation R is already reflexive by itself, so it does not differ from its reflexive closure. However, if any of the pairs in R was absent, it would be inserted for the reflexive closure. For example, if on the same set X :R = \left\ then the reflexive closure is :S = R \cup \left\ = \left\ . See also * Transitive closure * Symmetric closure References * Franz Baader and Tob ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Complementary Relation
In set theory, the complement of a set , often denoted by (or ), is the set of elements not in . When all sets in the universe, i.e. all sets under consideration, are considered to be members of a given set , the absolute complement of is the set of elements in that are not in . The relative complement of with respect to a set , also termed the set difference of and , written B \setminus A, is the set of elements in that are not in . Absolute complement Definition If is a set, then the absolute complement of (or simply the complement of ) is the set of elements not in (within a larger set that is implicitly defined). In other words, let be a set that contains all the elements under study; if there is no need to mention , either because it has been previously specified, or it is obvious and unique, then the absolute complement of is the relative complement of in : A^\complement = U \setminus A. Or formally: A^\complement = \. The absolute complement of is u ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Converse Relation
In mathematics, the converse relation, or transpose, of a binary relation is the relation that occurs when the order of the elements is switched in the relation. For example, the converse of the relation 'child of' is the relation 'parent of'. In formal terms, if X and Y are sets and L \subseteq X \times Y is a relation from X to Y, then L^ is the relation defined so that yL^x if and only if xLy. In set-builder notation, :L^ = \. The notation is analogous with that for an inverse function. Although many functions do not have an inverse, every relation does have a unique converse. The unary operation that maps a relation to the converse relation is an involution, so it induces the structure of a semigroup with involution on the binary relations on a set, or, more generally, induces a dagger category on the category of relations as detailed below. As a unary operation, taking the converse (sometimes called conversion or transposition) commutes with the order-rel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Strict Preorder
In mathematics, especially in order theory, a preorder or quasiorder is a binary relation that is reflexive and transitive. Preorders are more general than equivalence relations and (non-strict) partial orders, both of which are special cases of a preorder: an antisymmetric (or skeletal) preorder is a partial order, and a symmetric preorder is an equivalence relation. The name comes from the idea that preorders (that are not partial orders) are 'almost' (partial) orders, but not quite; they are neither necessarily antisymmetric nor asymmetric. Because a preorder is a binary relation, the symbol \,\leq\, can be used as the notational device for the relation. However, because they are not necessarily antisymmetric, some of the ordinary intuition associated to the symbol \,\leq\, may not apply. On the other hand, a preorder can be used, in a straightforward fashion, to define a partial order and an equivalence relation. Doing so, however, is not always useful or worthwhi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
