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Basic Notation and Terminology

A partially ordered set or poset \bfP is a pair (X,P) where X is a set and P is a reflexive, antisymmetric, and transitive binary relation on X.

Basic Notation and Terminology

A partially ordered set or poset \(\bfP\) is a pair \((X,P)\) where \(X\) is a set and \(P\) is a reflexive, antisymmetric, and transitive binary relation on \(X\). (Refer to for a refresher of what these properties are if you need to.) We call \(X\) the ground set while \(P\) is a partial order on \(X\). Elements of the ground set \(X\) are also called points, and the poset \(\bfP\) is finite if its ground set \(X\) is a finite set.

Example

Let \(X=\{a,b,c,d,e,f\}\). Consider the following binary relations on \(X\). \[\begin{aligned}R_1=\{\amp (a,a),(b,b),(c,c),(d,d),(e,e),(f,f),(a,b),(a,c),(e,f)\} \\ R_2=\{\amp (a,a),(b,b),(c,c),(d,d),(e,e),(f,f),(d,b),(d,e),(b,a),(e,a), \\ \amp(d,a),(c,f)\} \\ R_3=\{\amp(a,a),(b,b),(c,c),(d,d),(e,e),(f,f),(a,c),(a,e),(a,f),(b,c), \\ \amp(b,d),(b,e),(b,f),(d,e),(d,f),(e,f)\} \\ R_4=\{\amp(a,a),(b,b),(c,c),(d,d),(e,e),(f,f),(d,b),(b,a),(e,a),(c,f)\} \\ R_5=\{\amp(a,a),(c,c),(d,d),(e,e),(a,e),(c,a),(c,e),(d,e)\} \\ R_6=\{\amp(a,a),(b,b),(c,c),(d,d),(e,e),(f,f),(d,f),(b,e),(c,a),(e,b)\}\end{aligned}\] Which of the binary relations are partial orders on \(X\)? For those that are not partial orders on \(X\), which property or properties are violated?

Solution

A bit of checking confirms that \(R_1\), \(R_2\) and \(R_3\) are partial orders on \(X\), so \(\bfP_1=(X,R_1)\), \(\bfP_2=(X,R_2)\) and \(\bfP_3=(X,R_3)\) are posets. Several of the other examples we will discuss in this chapter will use the poset \(\bfP_3=(X,R_3)\).

On the other hand, \(R_4\), \(R_5\) and \(R_6\) are not partial orders on \(X\). Note that \(R_4\) is not transitive, as it contains \((d,b)\) and \((b,a)\) but not \((d,a)\). The relation \(R_5\) is not reflexive, since it doesn't contain \((b,b)\). (Also, it also doesn't contain \((f,f)\), but one shortcoming is enough.) Note that \(R_5\) is a partial order on \(\{a,c,d,e\}\). The relation \(R_6\) is not antisymmetric, as it contains both \((b,e)\) and \((e,b)\).

For posets of moderate size, diagrams are frequently used to define a posetrather than the explicit binary relation notation illustrated in . In , we illustrate a poset \(\PXP\) with ground set \(X=[17]=\{1,2,\dots,17\}\). It would take several lines of text to write out the binary relation \(P\), and somehow the diagram serves to give us a more tactile sense of the properties of the poset.

When \(\PXP\) is a poset and \(Y\subseteq X\), the binary relation \(Q=P\cap(Y\times Y)\) is a partial order on \(Y\), and we call the poset \((Y,Q)\) a subposet of \(\bfP\). In , we show a subposet of the poset first presented in .

Condensed: the full section is in Keller & Trotter, Applied Combinatorics.

Haddaad Ma jiro xisaabis oo ku nool midkan, laakiin qaybaha ka mid ah waa la xisaabi karaa. Ku raaxayso mid ka hooseeya, ama ku qor adiga kuu gaar ah.

Tababar (3)

Ku day mid kasta oo ka mid ah oo ku saabsan buugaag hore. Muuji jawaabta si aad u hubiso; kuwa la xaqiijiyay waxaa la furi karaa in xalka ah tallaabo kasta.

  1. Consider the poset in . List all of the elements that are comparable to point \(6\).

  2. Consider the middle poset in . Give an example of a chain with three elements that contains the point \(21\).

  3. Consider the rightmost poset in . Give an example of an antichain with three elements that contains the point \((6,4,5)\).

Ku hay shaqadaada

A xisaab bilaash ah oo ku daray qoraalada waxbarasho kasta, diiwaanka waxa aad dhamaatay, dhibaatooyinka aad xal u tahay meel kaliya, iyo macallinka aad weydiisan kartaa oo ku saabsan bogga. Xisaabta oo keliya waa u furan yahay qof kasta, la diiwaan geliyey ama aan.

Ku soo biir Ku soo gal

Calaamadaha la isticmaalay halkan

Taab calaamad kasta oo loogu talagalay qeexidda buuxda, sawir, iyo waxa xarfaha oo dhan ka mid ah ka dhigan tahay.

Su'aalaha dadku waydiiyaan

Permutation or combination?

Ask whether order matters. A lock code is a permutation (order matters); a hand of cards is a combination (it does not).

What is a graph in this sense?

Dots (vertices) joined by lines (edges), not a plot. Road maps, social networks and molecules are graphs; questions like "is there a route" and "how few colours" are graph theory.

Qaybaha ee boggaan waxaa la beddelay ka Keller & Trotter, Applied Combinatorics (CC BY-SA 4.0). Condensed iyo dib-oo halkan lagu sharaxay; khaladaadka waa inoo.

In ka badan Combinatorics & Graph Theory