Infimum and supremum

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A set T of real numbers (hollow and filled circles), a subset S of T (filled circles), and the
infimum of S. Note that for finite, totally ordered sets the infimum and the minimum are equal.

A set A of real numbers (blue circles), a set of upper bounds of A (red diamond and circles),
and the smallest such upper bound, that is, the supremum of A (red diamond).

In mathematics, the infimum (abbreviated inf; plural infima) of a subset S of a partially

ordered set T is the greatest element in T that is less than or equal to all elements of S, if
such an element exists.[1] Consequently, the term greatest lower bound (abbreviated as
GLB) is also commonly used.[1]

The supremum (abbreviated sup; plural suprema) of a subset S of a partially ordered

set T is the least element in T that is greater than or equal to all elements of S, if such an
element exists.[1] Consequently, the supremum is also referred to as the least upper
bound (or LUB).[1]

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 similar to minimum and maximum, but are
more useful in analysis because they better characterize special sets which may have no
minimum or maximum. For instance, the positive real numbers ℝ+ (not including 0) does
not have a minimum, because any given element of ℝ+ could simply be divided in half
resulting in a smaller number that is still in ℝ+. There is, however, exactly one infimum
of the positive real numbers: 0, which is smaller than all the positive real numbers and
greater than any other real number which could be used as a lower bound.

Contents

 1 Formal definition

 2 Existence and uniqueness

 3 Relation to maximum and minimum elements

o 3.1 Minimal upper bounds

o 3.2 Least-upper-bound property

 4 Infima and suprema of real numbers

o 4.1 Properties

 5 Duality

 6 Examples

o 6.1 Infima

o 6.2 Suprema

 7 See also

 8 References

 9 External links