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List Of Order Topics
Order theory is a branch of mathematics that studies various kinds of objects (often binary relations) that capture the intuitive notion of ordering, providing a framework for saying when one thing is "less than" or "precedes" another. An alphabetical list of many notions of order theory can be found in the order theory glossary. See also inequality (mathematics), inequality, extreme value and mathematical optimization. Overview *Partially ordered set *Preorder *Totally ordered set **Total preorder **Chain (order theory), Chain **Trichotomy (mathematics), Trichotomy **Extended real number line *Antichain *Strict order *Hasse diagram **Directed acyclic graph *Duality (order theory) *Product order Distinguished elements of partial orders *Greatest element (maximum, top, unit), Least element (minimum, bottom, zero) *Maximal element, minimal element *Upper bound **Least upper bound (supremum, join) **Greatest lower bound (infimum, meet) **Limit superior and limit inferior *Irreducibl ... [...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 difference ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Directed Acyclic Graph
In mathematics, particularly graph theory, and computer science, a directed acyclic graph (DAG) is a directed graph with no directed cycles. That is, it consists of vertices and edges (also called ''arcs''), with each edge directed from one vertex to another, such that following those directions will never form a closed loop. A directed graph is a DAG if and only if it can be topologically ordered, by arranging the vertices as a linear ordering that is consistent with all edge directions. DAGs have numerous scientific and computational applications, ranging from biology (evolution, family trees, epidemiology) to information science (citation networks) to computation (scheduling). Directed acyclic graphs are sometimes instead called acyclic directed graphs or acyclic digraphs. Definitions A graph is formed by vertices and by edges connecting pairs of vertices, where the vertices can be any kind of object that is connected in pairs by edges. In the case of a directed graph, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Compact Element
{{Unreferenced, date=December 2008 In the mathematical area of order theory, the compact elements or finite elements of a partially ordered set are those elements that cannot be subsumed by a supremum of any non-empty directed set that does not already contain members above the compact element. This notion of compactness simultaneously generalizes the notions of finite sets in set theory, compact sets in topology, and finitely generated modules in algebra. (There are other notions of compactness in mathematics.) Formal definition In a partially ordered set (''P'',≤) an element ''c'' is called ''compact'' (or ''finite'') if it satisfies one of the following equivalent conditions: * For every directed subset ''D'' of ''P'', if ''D'' has a supremum sup ''D'' and ''c'' ≤ sup ''D'' then ''c'' ≤ ''d'' for some element ''d'' of ''D''. * For every ideal ''I'' of ''P'', if ''I'' has a supremum sup ''I'' and ''c'' ≤ sup ''I'' then ''c'' is an element of ''I''. If the poset ''P ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prime Element (order Theory)
In mathematics, specifically in abstract algebra, a prime element of a commutative ring is an object satisfying certain properties similar to the prime numbers in the integers and to irreducible polynomials. Care should be taken to distinguish prime elements from irreducible elements, a concept which is the same in UFDs but not the same in general. Definition An element of a commutative ring is said to be prime if it is not the zero element or a unit and whenever divides for some and in , then divides or divides . With this definition, Euclid's lemma is the assertion that prime numbers are prime elements in the ring of integers. Equivalently, an element is prime if, and only if, the principal ideal generated by is a nonzero prime ideal. (Note that in an integral domain, the ideal is a prime ideal, but is an exception in the definition of 'prime element'.) Interest in prime elements comes from the fundamental theorem of arithmetic, which asserts that each nonzero int ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Irreducible Element (order Theory)
In algebra, an irreducible element of an integral domain is a non-zero element that is not invertible (that is, is not a unit), and is not the product of two non-invertible elements. The irreducible elements are the terminal elements of a factorization process; that is, they are the factors that cannot be further factorized. The irreducible factors of an element are uniquely defined, up to the multiplication by a unit, if the integral domain is a unique factorization domain. It was discovered in the 19th century that the rings of integers of some number fields are not unique factorization domains, and, therefore, that some irreducible elements can appear in some factorization of an element and not in other factorizations of the same element. The ignorance of this fact is the main error in many of the wrong proofs of Fermat's Last Theorem that were given during the three centuries between Fermat's statement and Wiles's proof of Fermat's Last Theorem. The definition can be, and usual ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Limit Superior And Limit Inferior
In mathematics, the limit inferior and limit superior of a sequence can be thought of as limiting (that is, eventual and extreme) bounds on the sequence. They can be thought of in a similar fashion for a function (see limit of a function). For a set, they are the infimum and supremum of the set's limit points, respectively. In general, when there are multiple objects around which a sequence, function, or set accumulates, the inferior and superior limits extract the smallest and largest of them; the type of object and the measure of size is context-dependent, but the notion of extreme limits is invariant. Limit inferior is also called infimum limit, limit infimum, liminf, inferior limit, lower limit, or inner limit; limit superior is also known as supremum limit, limit supremum, limsup, superior limit, upper limit, or outer limit. The limit inferior of a sequence x_n is denoted by \liminf_x_n\quad\text\quad \varliminf_x_n. The limit superior of a sequence x_n is denoted by \lims ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Greatest Lower Bound
In mathematics, the infimum (abbreviated inf; plural infima) of a subset S of a partially ordered set P is a greatest element in P that is less than or equal to each element of S, if such an element exists. Consequently, the term ''greatest lower bound'' (abbreviated as ) is also commonly used. The supremum (abbreviated sup; plural suprema) of a subset S of a partially ordered set P is the least element in P that is greater than or equal to each element of S, if such an element exists. Consequently, the supremum is also referred to as the ''least upper bound'' (or ). The infimum is in a precise sense dual to the concept of a supremum. Infima and suprema of real numbers are common special cases that are important in analysis, and especially in Lebesgue integration. However, the general definitions remain valid in the more abstract setting of order theory where arbitrary partially ordered sets are considered. The concepts of infimum and supremum are close to minimum and max ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Least Upper Bound
In mathematics, the infimum (abbreviated inf; plural infima) of a subset S of a partially ordered set P is a greatest element in P that is less than or equal to each element of S, if such an element exists. Consequently, the term ''greatest lower bound'' (abbreviated as ) is also commonly used. The supremum (abbreviated sup; plural suprema) of a subset S of a partially ordered set P is the least element in P that is greater than or equal to each element of S, if such an element exists. Consequently, the supremum is also referred to as the ''least upper bound'' (or ). The infimum is in a precise sense dual to the concept of a supremum. Infima and suprema of real numbers are common special cases that are important in analysis, and especially in Lebesgue integration. However, the general definitions remain valid in the more abstract setting of order theory where arbitrary partially ordered sets are considered. The concepts of infimum and supremum are close to minimum and maxim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Upper Bound
In mathematics, particularly in order theory, an upper bound or majorant of a subset of some preordered set is an element of that is greater than or equal to every element of . Dually, a lower bound or minorant of is defined to be an element of that is less than or equal to every element of . A set with an upper (respectively, lower) bound is said to be bounded from above or majorized (respectively bounded from below or minorized) by that bound. The terms bounded above (bounded below) are also used in the mathematical literature for sets that have upper (respectively lower) bounds. Examples For example, is a lower bound for the set (as a subset of the integers or of the real numbers, etc.), and so is . On the other hand, is not a lower bound for since it is not smaller than every element in . The set has as both an upper bound and a lower bound; all other numbers are either an upper bound or a lower bound for that . Every subset of the natural numbers has a lowe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Minimal Element
In mathematics, especially in order theory, a maximal element of a subset ''S'' of some preordered set is an element of ''S'' that is not smaller than any other element in ''S''. A minimal element of a subset ''S'' of some preordered set is defined dually as an element of ''S'' that is not greater than any other element in ''S''. The notions of maximal and minimal elements are weaker than those of greatest element and least element which are also known, respectively, as maximum and minimum. The maximum of a subset S of a preordered set is an element of S which is greater than or equal to any other element of S, and the minimum of S is again defined dually. In the particular case of a partially ordered set, while there can be at most one maximum and at most one minimum there may be multiple maximal or minimal elements. Specializing further to totally ordered sets, the notions of maximal element and maximum coincide, and the notions of minimal element and minimum coincide. As an exa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maximal Element
In mathematics, especially in order theory, a maximal element of a subset ''S'' of some preordered set is an element of ''S'' that is not smaller than any other element in ''S''. A minimal element of a subset ''S'' of some preordered set is defined dually as an element of ''S'' that is not greater than any other element in ''S''. The notions of maximal and minimal elements are weaker than those of greatest element and least element which are also known, respectively, as maximum and minimum. The maximum of a subset S of a preordered set is an element of S which is greater than or equal to any other element of S, and the minimum of S is again defined dually. In the particular case of a partially ordered set, while there can be at most one maximum and at most one minimum there may be multiple maximal or minimal elements. Specializing further to totally ordered sets, the notions of maximal element and maximum coincide, and the notions of minimal element and minimum coincide. As an ex ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Least Element
In mathematics, especially in order theory, the greatest element of a subset S of a partially ordered set (poset) is an element of S that is greater than every other element of S. The term least element is defined dually, that is, it is an element of S that is smaller than every other element of S. Definitions Let (P, \leq) be a preordered set and let S \subseteq P. An element g \in P is said to be if g \in S and if it also satisfies: :s \leq g for all s \in S. By using \,\geq\, instead of \,\leq\, in the above definition, the definition of a least element of S is obtained. Explicitly, an element l \in P is said to be if l \in S and if it also satisfies: :l \leq s for all s \in S. If (P, \leq) is even a partially ordered set then S can have at most one greatest element and it can have at most one least element. Whenever a greatest element of S exists and is unique then this element is called greatest element of S. The terminology least element of S is defined simila ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
