Boolean Algebra

Lattices

In an earlier chapter we have

gone through the topic –
partially ordered sets or
posets. Let us now continue
with the topic and describe
what a lattice is, in this
chapter. Since you are familiar
with the basic concepts, we will
move on to the topic without
much introduction.

Module - 1

Lattices and Algebraic

structures

A lattice is a poset (A, ≤) in

which every subset {a, b}
consisting of two elements has
a least upper bound (LUB) and
a greatest lower bound (GLB).
Lattice structures often appear
in computing and mathematical
applications. For example
Figure 1 shows a lattice.

d
b
c

f
e

Figure 1: A lattice

There is a natural way to

define an algebraic system
with two operations to define a
lattice. Let (A, ≤) be a lattice.

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Then we define an algebraic
system (A, , ) where
and are two binary
operations on A. We denote
LUB ({a, b}) by 𝑎 ⋁ 𝑏and call it
the join of a and b. Similarly,
we denote GLB ({a, b}) by
𝑎 ⋀ 𝑏 and call it the meet of a
and b. We shall refer (A, ,
) as the algebraic system
associated with the lattice (A,
≤). We shall also denote +
(plus) and . (dot) for join and
meet respectively.

Example 1: The algebraic

system for the lattice given in
figure 1 is shown in figure 2.

a b c d e f g a b c d e f g
a a a a a a a a a a b c d e f g
b a b a a b a b b b b e g e g g
c a a c a c c c c c e c f e f g
d a a a d a d d d d g f d g f g
e a b c a e c e e e e e g e g g
f a a c d c f f f f g f f g f g
g a b c d e f g g g g g g g g G

Figure 2

Example 2: Let S be a set.

Consider P(S) which is the
power set of S. As we have
seen, , containment, is a
partial order on P(S). Let A and
B belong to the poset (P(S),
). Then 𝐴 ⋁ 𝐵 is the set AUB.
The element 𝐴 ⋀ 𝐵.in (P(S), )

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is the set A  B. Thus, P(S) is
lattice. If S={a,b,c} , the lattice
(P(S),  ) is shown in figure 3.

Figure 3

Example 3: Consider the poset

(Z+, ≤), where for a and b in Z+,
a ≤ b if and only if a | b (a
divides b). Then (Z+, ≤) is a
lattice in which the join and
meet of a and b are their least
common multiple and greatest
common divisor, respectively.
Thus,

Example 4: Let n be a positive

integer and let Dn be the set of
all positive divisors of n. Then
Dn is a lattice under the
relation of divisibility as
considered in the previous
example. Thus, if n = 20, we
have D20 = {1,2,4, 5,10, 20).
The Hasse diagram of D20 is
shown in Figure 4. If n = 30,
we have D30 =
{1,2,3,5,6,10,15,30).

The Hasse diagram of D30 is

shown in Figure 5

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 Figure 4

Figure 5

Example 5: Which of the

Hasse diagrams in the figure 6
represent a

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lattice?

Figure 6

Solution: Hasse diagrams (a),

(b), (d), and (e) represent
lattices. Diagram (c) does not
represent a lattice because
𝑓 ⋁ 𝑔 does not exist. Diagram
(f) does not represent a lattice
because neither 𝑑 ⋀ 𝑒 nor
𝑏 ⋁ 𝑐 exist. Diagram (g) does
not represent a lattice because
𝑐 ⋀ 𝑑 does not exist.

Sublattice: Let (A, ≤) be a

lattice. A nonempty subset S of
A is called a sublattice of A if a
V b  S and a ⋀ 𝑏  S
whenever a  S and b  S.

Example 6: Consider the lattice

L shown in Figure 7(a).The
partially ordered subset Sb
shown in Figure 7(b) is not a
sublattice of L since a ⋀ 𝑏 
Sb. The partially ordered
subset Sc in Figure 7(c) is not
a sublattice of L since a V b 
Sc. But we can see that Sc is a
lattice when considered as a
poset by itself. The partially
ordered subset Sd in Figure 7
(d) is a sublattice of L.

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Figure7

Isomorphic Lattices

If f: A1 —»A2 is an
isomorphism from the poset
(A1, ≤1) to the poset (A2, ≤2), A1
is a lattice if and only if A2 is a
lattice. In fact, if a and b are
elements of A1( then f(𝑎 ⋀ 𝑏) =
f(a)⋀ 𝑓(𝑏) and f(a \/ b) = f(a) V
f(b). If two lattices are
isomorphic, as posets, we say
they are isomorphic lattices.

Module – 2

Properties of Lattices

Before proving the properties

of lattices let us recall the
meaning of

𝑎 ⋁ 𝑏 and 𝑎 ⋀ 𝑏

1. a ≤ 𝑎 ⋁ 𝑏 and b ≤ 𝑎 ⋁ 𝑏 ;
𝑎 ⋁ 𝑏 is an upper bound
for a and b.
2. If a ≤ c and b ≤ c, then
𝑎 ⋁ 𝑏 ≤c; 𝑎 ⋁ 𝑏 is the
least upper bound of a
and b.
3. 𝑎 ⋀ 𝑏 ≤ a and 𝑎 ⋀ 𝑏 ≤ b ;
𝑎 ⋀ 𝑏 is a lower bound
of a and b.
4. If c ≤ a and c ≤ b, then c
≤ ⋀ 𝑏 ; 𝑎 ⋀ 𝑏 is the
greatest lower bound of
a and b.

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Theorem1: Let (A, ≤)
be a lattice. Then for
every a and b in A,
a) 𝑎 ⋁ 𝑏 = b if and only
if a ≤ b
b) 𝑎 ⋀ 𝑏 = a if and only
if a ≤ b
c) 𝑎 ⋀ 𝑏 = a if and only
if 𝑎 ⋁ 𝑏 = b
Proof: (a) Suppose
that 𝑎 ⋁ 𝑏 = b. Since
a ≤ 𝑎 ⋁ 𝑏 = b, we
have a ≤ b.
Conversely, if a ≤ b,
then, since, b ≤ b, b
is an upper bound of
a and b; so by
definition of least
upper bound we
have 𝑎 ⋁ 𝑏 ≤ b. Since
𝑎 ⋁ 𝑏 is an upper
bound, b ≤ 𝑎 ⋁ 𝑏, so
𝑎 ⋁ 𝑏 = b.

(b) The Proof of (b)

is analogous to the
proof of part (a).
(c)The Proof follows
from part (a) and
part (b)

Theorem 2: Let (A,≤)

be a lattice. Then

Theorem3: Let (A,≤)

be a lattice. Then for
every a, b, c in L
1. If a ≤ b, then
(a) 𝑎 ⋁ 𝑐 ≤ 𝑏 ⋁ 𝑐
(b) 𝑎 ⋀ 𝑐 ≤ 𝑏 ⋀ 𝑐

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 2. a ≤ c and b ≤ c if
and only if 𝑎 ⋁ 𝑏 ≤
c
3. c ≤ a and c ≤ b if
and only if c ≤
𝑎⋀𝑏
4. If a ≤ b and c ≤ d,
then,
(a) 𝑎 ⋁ 𝑐 ≤ 𝑏 ⋁ 𝑑
(b) 𝑎 ⋀ 𝑐 ≤ 𝑏 ⋀ 𝑑

The proof of Theorems 2 and 3

follows from definitions and
hence is left as an exercise.

Module – 3

Principle of duality

Let (A, ≤) be a partially ordered

set. And let ≤ be a binary
relation on A defined as for any
elements a, b in A , a ≤ b if and
only if b is less than a. Then it
can be seen that (A,≥) is also a
partially ordered set.

Furthermore, if (A,≤) is a
lattice, (A,≥) is also a lattice
and it is denoted by (A,≤)*.We
note that both these lattices
are closely related, so are the
algebraic system defined by
them. To be specific, the join
operation of the algebraic
system (A,≤) is the meet
operation of the algebraic
system (A,≤)* and vice versa.
So given any valid statement
concerning the general
properties of lattices we can
obtain another valid statement
by replacing ≤ by ≥, the join
statement by replacing it with
meet operation and vice versa.
This is known as the principle
of duality for lattices.

In fact, for any a and b in A,

the least upper bound of a and
b in (A, ≤) is equal to the
greatest lower bound of a and
b in (A, ≤). Similarly, the
greatest lower bound of a and
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b in (A, ≤) is equal to the least
upper bound of a and ft in (A,
≤). If A is a finite set, this
property can easily be seen by
examining the Hasse diagrams
of the poset and its dual.

Special types of lattices.

An element a in a lattice (A,≤)

is called the universal upper
bound if b≤a for every b  A.
If a lattice has a universal
upper bound, then it is unique.
Similarily, an element a in a
lattice (A,≤) is called the
universal lower bound if a≤b
for every b  A. If a lattice
has a universal lower bound,
then it is unique. We use 0 to
denote the universal lower
bound and 𝐼 to denote the
universal upper bound.

Theorem 4: Let (A,≤) be a

lattice with universal upper and
lower bounds 0 and 𝐼. Then for
any element a in A,

𝑎 ⋁ 𝐼 = 𝐼 and a⋀ 𝐼 = 𝑎

𝑎 ⋁ 0 = 𝑎 and a ⋀ 0 = 0

Bounded Lattice: A lattice L is

said to be bounded if it has a
greatest element I and a least
element 0

Example 7: The lattice Z+

under the partial order of
divisibility, as defined in
Example 2, is not a bounded
lattice since it has a least
element, the number 1, but no
greatest element.

Example 8: The lattice Z under

the partial order is not bounded
since it has neither a greatest
nor a least element.

Example 9: The lattice P(S) of

all subsets of a set S, as
defined in Example 1, is

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bounded. Its greatest element
is S and its least element is 

Theorem 5: Let L = {a1, a2,

..........., an } be a finite lattice.
Then L is bounded.

Proof: the greatest element of

L is

And its least element is

Distributive lattice: A lattice L is

called distributive if for any
elements a, b, and c in L we
have the following distributive
properties:

1. 𝑎 ⋀(𝑏 ⋁ 𝑐) =
(𝑎 ⋀ 𝑏 ) ⋁(𝑎 ⋀ 𝑐)
2. 𝑎 ⋁(𝑏 ⋀ 𝑐 ) =
(𝑎 ⋁ 𝑏) ⋀(𝑎 ⋁ 𝑐)

If L is not distributive, it is
called nondistributive.

These properties can be

verified in the same way as the
earlier results.

Example 10: For a set S, the

lattice P(S) is distributive, since
union and intersection (the join
and meet, respectively) each
satisfy the distributive property.

Example 11: The lattice shown

in Figure 8 is distributive, as
can be seen by verifying the
distributive properties for all
ordered triples chosen from the
elements a, b, c, and d.

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 Figure 8

Example 12: Show that the

lattices shown in figure 9 is
nondistributive

Figure 9

Solution:(a) We have a
⋀(b V c) = a ⋀ I = a

while
(𝑎 ⋀ 𝑏 ) ⋁(𝑎 ⋀ 𝑐) = b V 0 = b.

(b) Observe that a

⋀(b V c) = a ⋀ I = a

while
(𝑎 ⋀ 𝑏 ) ⋁(𝑎 ⋀ 𝑐) = 0 V 0 = 0.

Now we will see a theorem on

the condition to show that a
given lattice is nondistributive.

Theorem 6: A lattice L is
nondistributive if and only if it
contains a sublattice that is

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isomorphic to one of the two
lattices in Figure 9.

Complement of an element:
Let L be a bounded lattice with
greatest element I and least
element 0, and let a  L. An
element a’ in L is called a
complement of a if (𝑎 ⋁ a′ ) = 𝐼
and a⋀ a′ = 0.

Observe that 0' = I and I' = 0.

Example 13: The lattice L =

P(S) is such that every
element has a complement,
since if A  L, then its set
complement 𝐴̅ has the
properties A ⋀ 𝐴̅ = ∅ and
A⋁ 𝐴̅ =S.

Example 14: The lattices in

Figure 9 each have the
property that every element
has a complement. The
element c in both cases has
two complements, a and b.

Example 15: Consider the

lattices D20 and D30 discussed
in Example 3 and shown in
Figure 4 and Figure 5.
Observe that every element in
D30 has a complement. For
example, if a = 5, then a' = 6.
However, the elements 2 and
10 in D20 have no
complements.

Examples 14 and 15 show that

an element a in a lattice need
not have a complement, and it
may have more than one
complement. We will see now
that, for a bounded distributive
lattice, the situation is more
restrictive, as shown by the
following theorem.

Theorem 7: Let L be a
bounded distributive lattice. If a
complement exists, it is
unique.

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Proof: Let a' and a" be
complements of the element a
 L. Then
a V a' = I,
a V a" = I

a ⋀ a' = 0,
a ⋀ a" = 0.

Using the distributive laws, we

obtain

a' = a' V 0 = a' V

(a ⋀ a") = (a' V a) ⋀ (a' V a")

= (a V a') ⋀
(a' V a")

= I ⋀ (a' V a") =
a' V a"

Also,

a" =a" V 0 = a" V (a

⋀ a') = (a" V a) /\ (a" V a')

= (a V a") /\ (a' V
a")

= I ⋀ (a' V a") =
a' V a"

Hence
a' = a"

Complemented lattice: A lattice

L is called complemented if it is
bounded and if every element
in L has a complement.

Example 16: The lattice L =

P(S) is complemented. In this
case each element of L has a
unique complement, which can
be seen directly.

Example 17: The lattices

shown in Figure 9 are
complemented. In this case,
the complements are not
unique.

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Module – 4

Finite Boolean Algebras

In this section we discuss a

certain type of lattice that has a
great many applications in
computer science. We have
seen in Example 2 that if S is a
set, L = P(S), and  is the
usual relation of containment,
then the poset (L,  ) is a
lattice. These lattices have
many properties that are not
shared by lattices in general.
For this reason they are easier
to work with, and they play a
more important role in various
applications.

Theorem 8: If S1 = {x1, x2,.....,

xn } and S2 = {y1, y2,...., yn } are
any two finite sets with n
elements, then the lattices
(P(S1,),  ) and (P(S2,),  )
are isomorphic. In particular,
the Hasse diagrams of these
lattices may be drawn
identically.

The essential point of this

theorem is that the lattice
(P(S),  ) is completely
determined as a poset by the
number |S| and does not
depend in any way on the
nature of the elements in S.

Example 18: Figure 10(a) and

(b) show Hasse diagrams for
the lattices (P(S), ) and
(P(T),  ), respectively, where
5 = {a, b, c} and T = {2, 3, 5}. It
is clear from this figure that the
two lattices are isomorphic. In
fact, we see that one possible
isomorphism f:S→T is given by

f({a}) = {2}, f({b}) = 13, f({c}) =

{5},

f({a, b}) = {2,3}, f({b, c}) = {3,5},

f({a, c}) = {2,5},

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f({a,b,c}) = {2,3,5}, f(∅) = ∅

Figure 10

Thus, for each n = 0, 1, 2,... .,

there is only one type of lattice
having the form (P(S),  ).
This lattice depends only on n,
not on S, and it as 2n
elements. If a set S has n
elements, then all subsets of S
can be represented by
sequences of 0's and 1's of
length n. We can therefore
label the Hasse diagram of a
lattice (P(S),  ) by such
sequences.

The labelling in this manner by

0’s and 1’s of the diagrams in
figure 9(a) and (b) can be seen
in figure 11

Figure 11

If the Hasse diagram of the

lattice corresponding to a set
with n elements is labelled by
sequences of 0's and 1's of
length n, then the resulting

15
lattice is named Bn. The
properties of the partial order
in Bn can be described directly
as follows. If x = a1a2.........an
and y = b1b2...........bn are two
elements of Bn, then

1. x ≤ y if and only if ak ≤ bk (as

numbers 0 or 1) for k = 1,2,...,
n.

2. x ⋀ y = c1c2............cn, where
ck = min {ak, bk}

3. x V y = d1d2 ......... dn, where

dk = max {ak, bk}

4. x has a complement x' =

z1z2 ....... zn, where zk = 1 if xk
= 0, and

zk = 0 if xk= 1.

The truth of these statements

can be seen by noting that (Bn,
≤) is isomorphic with (P(S), 
), so each x and y in Bn
correspond to subsets A and B
of S. Then x ≤ y, x ⋀ y, x V y,
and x’, correspond to A  B,
A  B, A U B, and 𝐴̅ ,
respectively.

The figure 12 gives the Hasse

diagrams for Bn for n = 0, 1, 2,
3.

Figure 12

We have seen that each lattice

(P(S),  ) is isomorphic with
Bn, where n = |𝑆|. Other
lattices may also be

16
isomorphic with one of the Bn
and thus possess all the
special properties that the Bn
possess.

Example 19: Consider the

lattice D6 under the partial
order of divisibility. The Hasse
diagram of D6 is shown in the
figure 13, and we now see that
D6 is isomorphic with B2. Here,
f: D6 —> B2 is an isomorphism,
where

f(1) = 00, f(2) = 10, f(3)=01, f(6)

= 11.

Figure 13

Now let us define the Boolean

algebra.

A finite lattice is called a

Boolean algebra if it is
isomorphic with Bn for some
nonnegative integer n. Thus
each Bn is a Boolean algebra
and so is each lattice (P(S), 
), where S is a finite set.

Summary
Now, let us summarise the
contents of this session. We
have defined a lattice and seen
the different properties of a
lattice. We have discussed
different types of lattices with
various examples. Also we
have seen the important
theorems in this topic. Also we

17
have concluded the session by
defining Boolean algebra.

We will continue with our

discussion on Boolean algebra
in the next class.

Have a nice day.

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