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The red subset = {1,2,3,4} has two maximal elements, viz. 3 and 4, and one minimal element, viz. 1, which is also its least element. In mathematics , especially in order theory , a maximal element of a subset S {\displaystyle S} of some preordered set is an element of S {\displaystyle S} that is not smaller than any other element in S ...
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, {,,} and {} are the maximal and minimal elements. Removing these, there are 3 maximal elements and 3 minimal elements (see Fig. 5).
Like upper bounds and maximal elements, greatest elements may fail to exist. In a totally ordered set the maximal element and the greatest element coincide; and it is also called maximum; in the case of function values it is also called the absolute maximum, to avoid confusion with a local maximum. [1] The dual terms are minimum and absolute ...
A finite saturated chain is maximal if and only if it contains both a minimal and a maximal element of the poset. Maximal element. A maximal element of a subset X of a poset P is an element m of X, such that m ≤ x implies m = x, for all x in X. The dual notion is called minimal element. Maximum element. Synonym of greatest element.
In noncommutative ring theory, a maximal right ideal is defined analogously as being a maximal element in the poset of proper right ideals, and similarly, a maximal left ideal is defined to be a maximal element of the poset of proper left ideals.
Likewise, a greatest element of a partially ordered set (poset) is an upper bound of the set which is contained within the set, whereas a maximal element m of a poset A is an element of A such that if m ≤ b (for any b in A), then m = b. Any least element or greatest element of a poset is unique, but a poset can have several minimal or maximal ...
Next it is shown that the poset of partial orders extending , ordered by extension, has a maximal element. The existence of such a maximal element is proved by applying Zorn's lemma to this poset. Zorn's lemma states that a partial order in which every chain has an upper bound has a maximal element. A chain in this poset is a set of relations ...
When a poset is a distributive lattice, maximal ideals and filters are necessarily prime, while the converse of this statement is false in general. Maximal filters are sometimes called ultrafilters , but this terminology is often reserved for Boolean algebras, where a maximal filter (ideal) is a filter (ideal) that contains exactly one of the ...