n 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.

Contents
1 Informal definition
2 Partial order relation
2.1 Non-strict partial order
2.2 Strict partial order
2.3 Correspondence of strict and non-strict partial order relations
2.4 Dual orders
3 Notation
4 Examples
4.1 Orders on the Cartesian product of partially ordered sets
4.2 Sums of partially ordered sets
5 Derived notions
5.1 Extrema
6 Mappings between partially ordered sets
7 Number of partial orders
8 Linear extension
9 Directed acyclic graphs
10 In category theory
11 Partial orders in topological spaces
12 Intervals
13 See also
14 Notes
15 Citations
16 References
17 External links
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 = y,
or x > y, or x and y are incomparable.[1][2]

A set with a partial order is called a partially ordered set (also called a poset).
The term ordered set is sometimes also used, as long as it is clear from the
context that no other kind of order is meant. In particular, totally ordered sets
can also be referred to as "ordered sets", especially in areas where these
structures are more common than posets.

A poset can be visualized through its Hasse diagram, which depicts the ordering
relation.[3]

Partial order relation

A partial order relation is a homogeneous relation that is transitive and
antisymmetric.[4] There are two common sub-definitions for a partial order
relation, for reflexive and irreflexive partial order relations, also called "non-
strict" and "strict" respectively. The two definitions can be put into a one-to-one
correspondence, so for every strict partial order there is a unique corresponding
non-strict partial order, and vice versa. The term partial order typically refers
to a non-strict partial order relation.

Non-strict partial order

A reflexive, weak,[4] or non-strict partial order[5] is a homogeneous relation ≤ on
a set

P that is reflexive, antisymmetric, and transitive. That is, for all

,
{\displaystyle a,b,c\in P,} it must satisfy:

Reflexivity:

{\displaystyle a\leq a}, i.e. every element is related to itself.

Antisymmetry: if

a\leq b and

{\displaystyle b\leq a} then

a=b, i.e. no two distinct elements precede each other.

Transitivity: if

{\displaystyle a\leq b} and

{\displaystyle b\leq c} then

{\displaystyle a\leq c}.

A non-strict partial order is also known as an antisymmetric preorder.

Strict partial order

An irreflexive, strong,[4] or strict partial order is a homogeneous relation < on a
set

P that is irreflexive, asymmetric, and transitive; that is, it satisfies the

following conditions for all

,
,

:
{\displaystyle a,b,c\in P:}

Irreflexivity: not

<

{\displaystyle a<a}, i.e. no element is related to itself (also called anti-

reflexive).
Asymmetry: if

<

a<b then not

<

b < a.
Transitivity: if

<

a<b and

<

b < c then

<

a < c.
Irreflexivity and transitivity together imply asymmetry. Also, asymmetry implies
irreflexivity. In other words, a transitive relation is asymmetric if and only if
it is irreflexive.[6] So the definition is the same if it omits either
irreflexivity or asymmetry (but not both).

A strict partial order is also known as a strict preorder.

Correspondence of strict and non-strict partial order relations

Fig.2 Commutative diagram about the connections between strict/non-strict relations

and their duals, via the operations of reflexive closure (cls), irreflexive kernel
(ker), and converse relation (cnv). Each relation is depicted by its logical matrix
for the poset whose Hasse diagram is depicted in the center. For example
3
≰
4
{\displaystyle 3\not \leq 4} so row 3, column 4 of the bottom left matrix is empty.
Strict and non-strict partial orders on a set

P are closely related. A non-strict partial order

≤\leq may be converted to a strict partial order by removing all relationships of
the form
≤

;
{\displaystyle a\leq a;} that is, the strict partial order is the set
<
:=

{\displaystyle <\;:=\ \leq \ \setminus \ \Delta _{P}} where

Δ

:=
{
(

)
:

}
{\displaystyle \Delta _{P}:=\{(p,p):p\in P\}} is the identity relation on

{\displaystyle P\times P} and

∖
{\displaystyle \;\setminus \;} denotes set subtraction. Conversely, a strict
partial order < on

P may be converted to a non-strict partial order by adjoining all relationships of

that form; that is,
≤
:=
Δ

∪
<
{\displaystyle \leq \;:=\;\Delta _{P}\;\cup \;<\;} is a non-strict partial order.
Thus, if
≤\leq is a non-strict partial order, then the corresponding strict partial order <
is the irreflexive kernel given by

<

if

and
≠

.
{\displaystyle a<b{\text{ if }}a\leq b{\text{ and }}a\neq b.}
Conversely, if < is a strict partial order, then the corresponding non-strict
partial order
≤\leq is the reflexive closure given by:

if

<

or

.
{\displaystyle a\leq b{\text{ if }}a<b{\text{ or }}a=b.}
Dual orders
Main article: Duality (order theory)
The dual (or opposite)

op
{\displaystyle R^{\text{op}}} of a partial order relation

R is defined by letting

op
{\displaystyle R^{\text{op}}} be the converse relation of

R, i.e.

op

{\displaystyle xR^{\text{op}}y} if and only if

yRx. The dual of a non-strict partial order is a non-strict partial order,[7] and
the dual of a strict partial order is a strict partial order. The dual of a dual of
a relation is the original relation.

Notation
We can consider a poset as a 3-tuple
(

,
≤
,
<
)
{\displaystyle (P,\leq ,<)},[8] where
≤\leq is a non-strict partial order relation on

P,
<
< is the associated strict partial order relation on

P (the irreflexive kernel of

≤\leq ),
≥\geq is the dual of
≤\leq , and
>
> is the dual of
<
<.

Any one of the four partial order relations

≤
,
<
,
≥
,
and
>
{\displaystyle \leq ,<,\geq ,{\text{ and }}>} on a given set uniquely determines
the other three. Hence, as a matter of notation, one may write
(

,
≤
)
(P,\leq) or
(

,
<
)
{\displaystyle (P,<)}, and assume that the other relations are defined
appropriately. Defining via a non-strict partial order
≤\leq is most common. Some authors use different symbols than
≤\leq such as
⊑\sqsubseteq [9] or
⪯\preceq [10] to distinguish partial orders from total orders.

When referring to partial orders,

≤\leq should not be taken as the complement of
>
> . The relation
>
> is the converse of the irreflexive kernel of
≤\leq , which is always a subset of the complement of
≤\leq , but
>
> is equal to the complement of
≤\leq if, and only if,
≤\leq is a total order.[a]

Examples
Division Relationship Up to 4
Fig. 3 Graph of the divisibility of numbers from 1 to 4. This set is partially, but
not totally, ordered because there is a relationship from 1 to every other number,
but there is no relationship from 2 to 3 or 3 to 4
Standard examples of posets arising in mathematics include:
The real numbers, or in general any totally ordered set, ordered by the standard
less-than-or-equal relation ≤, is a non-strict partial order.
On the real numbers

\mathbb {R} , the usual less than relation < is a strict partial order. The same is
also true of the usual greater than relation > on

\mathbb {R} .
By definition, every strict weak order is a strict partial order.
The set of subsets of a given set (its power set) ordered by inclusion (see Fig.1).
Similarly, the set of sequences ordered by subsequence, and the set of strings
ordered by substring.
The set of natural numbers equipped with the relation of divisibility. (see Fig.3
and Fig.6)
The vertex set of a directed acyclic graph ordered by reachability.
The set of subspaces of a vector space ordered by inclusion.
For a partially ordered set P, the sequence space containing all sequences of
elements from P, where sequence a precedes sequence b if every item in a precedes
the corresponding item in b. Formally,
(

≤
(

{\displaystyle \left(a_{n}\right)_{n\in \mathbb {N} }\leq \left(b_{n}\right)_{n\

in \mathbb {N} }} if and only if

a_{n}\leq b_{n} for all

n\in \mathbb {N} ; that is, a componentwise order.

For a set X and a partially ordered set P, the function space containing all
functions from X to P, where f ≤ g if and only if f(x) ≤ g(x) for all

.
{\displaystyle x\in X.}
A fence, a partially ordered set defined by an alternating sequence of order
relations a < b > c < d ...
The set of events in special relativity and, in most cases,[b] general relativity,
where for two events X and Y, X ≤ Y if and only if Y is in the future light cone of
X. An event Y can only be causally affected by X if X ≤ Y.
One familiar example of a partially ordered set is a collection of people ordered
by genealogical descendancy. Some pairs of people bear the descendant-ancestor
relationship, but other pairs of people are incomparable, with neither being a
descendant of the other.

Orders on the Cartesian product of partially ordered sets

Fig. 4a Lexicographic order on

{\displaystyle \mathbb {N} \times \mathbb {N} }

Fig. 4b Product order on

{\displaystyle \mathbb {N} \times \mathbb {N} }

Fig. 4c Reflexive closure of strict direct product order on

.
{\displaystyle \mathbb {N} \times \mathbb {N} .} Elements covered by (3, 3) and
covering (3, 3) are highlighted in green and red, respectively.
In order of increasing strength, i.e., decreasing sets of pairs, three of the
possible partial orders on the Cartesian product of two partially ordered sets are
(see Fig.4):

the lexicographical order: (a, b) ≤ (c, d) if a < c or (a = c and b ≤ d);

the product order: (a, b) ≤ (c, d) if a ≤ c and b ≤ d;
the reflexive closure of the direct product of the corresponding strict orders:
(a, b) ≤ (c, d) if (a < c and b < d) or (a = c and b = d).
All three can similarly be defined for the Cartesian product of more than two sets.

Applied to ordered vector spaces over the same field, the result is in each case
also an ordered vector space.

See also orders on the Cartesian product of totally ordered sets.

Sums of partially ordered sets

Another way to combine two (disjoint) posets is the ordinal sum[11] (or linear
sum),[12] Z = X ⊕ Y, defined on the union of the underlying sets X and Y by the
order a ≤Z b if and only if:

a, b ∈ X with a ≤X b, or
a, b ∈ Y with a ≤Y b, or
a ∈ X and b ∈ Y.
If two posets are well-ordered, then so is their ordinal sum.[13]

Series-parallel partial orders are formed from the ordinal sum operation (in this
context called series composition) and another operation called parallel
composition. Parallel composition is the disjoint union of two partially ordered
sets, with no order relation between elements of one set and elements of the other
set.

Derived notions
The examples use the poset
(

(
{

}
)
,
⊆
)
{\displaystyle ({\mathcal {P}}(\{x,y,z\}),\subseteq )} consisting of the set of all
subsets of a three-element set
{

}
,
{\displaystyle \{x,y,z\},} ordered by set inclusion (see Fig.1).

a is related to b when a ≤ b. This does not imply that b is also related to a,

because the relation need not be symmetric. For example,
{

}
\{x\} is related to
{

}
,
{\displaystyle \{x,y\},} but not the reverse.
a and b are comparable if a ≤ b or b ≤ a. Otherwise they are incomparable. For
example,
{

}
\{x\} and
{

}
{\displaystyle \{x,y,z\}} are comparable, while
{

}
\{x\} and
{
}
\{y\} are not.
A total order or linear order is a partial order under which every pair of elements
is comparable, i.e. trichotomy holds. For example, the natural numbers with their
standard order.
A chain is a subset of a poset that is a totally ordered set. For example,
{
{
}
,
{

}
,
{

}
}
{\displaystyle \{\{\,\},\{x\},\{x,y,z\}\}} is a chain.
An antichain is a subset of a poset in which no two distinct elements are
comparable. For example, the set of singletons
{
{

}
,
{

}
,
{

}
}
.
{\displaystyle \{\{x\},\{y\},\{z\}\}.}
An element a is said to be strictly less than an element b, if a ≤ b and

.
{\displaystyle a\neq b.} For example,
{

}
\{x\} is strictly less than
{

}
.
{\displaystyle \{x,y\}.}
An element a is said to be covered by another element b, written a ⋖ b (or a <: b),
if a is strictly less than b and no third element c fits between them; formally: if
both a ≤ b and

a\neq b are true, and a ≤ c ≤ b is false for each c with

.
{\displaystyle a\neq c\neq b.} Using the strict order <, the relation a ⋖ b can be
equivalently rephrased as "a < b but not a < c < b for any c". For example,
{

}
\{x\} is covered by
{

}
,
{\displaystyle \{x,z\},} but is not covered by
{

}
.
{\displaystyle \{x,y,z\}.}
Extrema

Fig.5 The figure above with the greatest and least elements removed. In this
reduced poset, the top row of elements are all maximal elements, and the bottom row
are all minimal elements, but there is no greatest and no least element.
There are several notions of "greatest" and "least" element in a poset

,
P, notably:

Greatest element and least element: An element

{\displaystyle g\in P} is a greatest element if for every element

.
{\displaystyle a\in P,a\leq g.} An element

∈
m\in P is a least element if for every element

.
{\displaystyle a\in P,m\leq a.} A poset can only have one greatest or least
element. In our running example, the set
{

}
{\displaystyle \{x,y,z\}} is the greatest element, and
{
}
{\displaystyle \{\,\}} is the least.
Maximal elements and minimal elements: An element

{\displaystyle g\in P} is a maximal element if there is no element

{\displaystyle a\in P} such that

>

.
{\displaystyle a>g.} Similarly, an element

m\in P is a minimal element if there is no element

{\displaystyle a\in P} such that

<

.
{\displaystyle a<m.} If a poset has a greatest element, it must be the unique
maximal element, but otherwise there can be more than one maximal element, and
similarly for least elements and minimal elements. In our running example,
{

}
{\displaystyle \{x,y,z\}} and
{
}
{\displaystyle \{\,\}} are the maximal and minimal elements. Removing these, there
are 3 maximal elements and 3 minimal elements (see Fig.5).
Upper and lower bounds: For a subset A of P, an element x in P is an upper bound of
A if a ≤ x, for each element a in A. In particular, x need not be in A to be an
upper bound of A. Similarly, an element x in P is a lower bound of A if a ≥ x, for
each element a in A. A greatest element of P is an upper bound of P itself, and a
least element is a lower bound of P. In our example, the set
{

}
\{x,y\} is an upper bound for the collection of elements
{
{

}
,
{

}
}
.
{\displaystyle \{\{x\},\{y\}\}.}

Fig.6 Nonnegative integers, ordered by divisibility

As another example, consider the positive integers, ordered by divisibility: 1 is a
least element, as it divides all other elements; on the other hand this poset does
not have a greatest element (although if one would include 0 in the poset, which is
a multiple of any integer, that would be a greatest element; see Fig.6). This
partially ordered set does not even have any maximal elements, since any g divides
for instance 2g, which is distinct from it, so g is not maximal. If the number 1 is
excluded, while keeping divisibility as ordering on the elements greater than 1,
then the resulting poset does not have a least element, but any prime number is a
minimal element for it. In this poset, 60 is an upper bound (though not a least
upper bound) of the subset
{
2
,
3
,
5
,
10
}
,
{\displaystyle \{2,3,5,10\},} which does not have any lower bound (since 1 is not
in the poset); on the other hand 2 is a lower bound of the subset of powers of 2,
which does not have any upper bound.