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In [[mathematics]], especially [[order theory]], a '''partial order''' on a [[Set (mathematics)|set]] is an arrangement such that, for certain pairs of elements, one precedes the other. The word ''partial'' is used to indicate that not every pair of elements needs to be comparable; that is, there may be pairs for which neither element precedes the other. Partial orders thus generalize [[total order]]s, in which every pair is comparable.
Formally, a partial order is a [[homogeneous binary relation]] that is [[Reflexive relation|reflexive]], [[antisymmetric relation|antisymmetric]], and [[Transitive relation|transitive]]. A '''partially ordered set''' ('''poset''' for short) is an [[ordered pair]] <math>P=(X,\leq)</math> consisting of a set <math>X</math> (called the ''ground set'' of <math>P</math>) and a partial order <math>\leq</math> on <math>X</math>. When the meaning is clear from context and there is no ambiguity about the partial order, the set <math>X</math> itself is sometimes called a poset.
== Partial order relations ==
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=== Strict partial orders ===
An '''irreflexive''', '''strong''',<ref name=Wallis/> or '''{{visible anchor|strict partial order|Strict partial order|Irreflexive partial order}}''' is a homogeneous relation < on a set <math>P</math> that is [[
# [[Transitive relation|Transitivity]]: if <math>a < b</math> and <math>b < c</math> then <math>a < c</math>.▼
# [[Irreflexive relation|Irreflexivity]]: <math>\neg\left( a < a \right)</math>, i.e. no element is related to itself (also called anti-reflexive).
# [[Asymmetric relation|Asymmetry]]: if <math>a < b</math> then not <math>b < a</math>.
▲# [[Transitive relation|Transitivity]]: if <math>a < b</math> and <math>b < c</math> then <math>a < c</math>.
A transitive relation is asymmetric if and only if it is irreflexive.<ref name="Flaška 2007">{{cite journal |last1=Flaška |first1=V. |last2=Ježek |first2=J. |last3=Kepka |first3=T. |last4=Kortelainen |first4=J. |title=Transitive Closures of Binary Relations I |journal=Acta Universitatis Carolinae. Mathematica et Physica |year=2007 |volume=48 |issue=1 |pages=55–69 |publisher=School of Mathematics – Physics Charles University |___location=Prague |url=http://dml.cz/dmlcz/142762 }} Lemma 1.1 (iv). This source refers to asymmetric relations as "strictly antisymmetric".</ref> So the definition is the same if it omits either irreflexivity or asymmetry (but not both).
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== Notation ==
Given a set <math>P</math> and a partial order relation, typically the non-strict partial order <math>\leq</math>, we may uniquely extend our notation to define four partial order relations <math>\leq,</math> <math><,</math> <math>\geq,</math> and <math>></math>, where <math>\leq</math> is a non-strict partial order relation on <math>P</math>, <math> < </math> is the associated strict partial order relation on <math>P</math> (the [[irreflexive kernel]] of <math>\leq</math>), <math>\geq</math> is the dual of <math>\leq</math>, and <math> > </math> is the dual of <math> < </math>. Strictly speaking, the term ''partially ordered set'' refers to a set with all of these relations defined appropriately. But practically, one need only consider a single relation, <math>(P,\leq)</math> or <math>(P,<)</math>, or, in rare instances, the non-strict and strict relations together, <math>(P,\leq,<)</math>.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Avigad |first1=Jeremy |last2=Lewis |first2=Robert Y. |last3=van Doorn |first3=Floris |title=Logic and Proof |date=29 March 2021 |edition=Release 3.18.4 |url=https://leanprover.github.io/logic_and_proof/relations.html#more-on-orderings |access-date=24 July 2021 |chapter=13.2. More on Orderings |quote=So we can think of every partial order as really being a pair, consisting of a weak partial order and an associated strict one. |archive-date=3 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230403074506/https://leanprover.github.io/logic_and_proof/relations.html#more-on-orderings |url-status=dead }}</ref>
The term ''ordered set'' is sometimes used as a shorthand for ''partially ordered set'', as long as it is clear from the context that no other kind of order is meant. In particular, [[Total order|totally ordered sets]] can also be referred to as "ordered sets", especially in areas where these structures are more common than posets. Some authors use different symbols than <math>\leq</math> such as <math>\sqsubseteq</math><ref>{{cite web |last1=Rounds |first1=William C. |title=Lectures slides |url=http://www.eecs.umich.edu/courses/eecs203-1/203-Mar7.pdf |website=EECS 203: DISCRETE MATHEMATICS |access-date=23 July 2021 |date=7 March 2002}}</ref> or <math>\preceq</math><ref>{{cite book |last1=Kwong |first1=Harris |title=A Spiral Workbook for Discrete Mathematics |date=25 April 2018 |url=https://math.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Combinatorics_and_Discrete_Mathematics/A_Spiral_Workbook_for_Discrete_Mathematics_(Kwong)/07%3A_Relations/7.04%3A_Partial_and_Total_Ordering |access-date=23 July 2021 |language=en |chapter=7.4: Partial and Total Ordering}}</ref> to distinguish partial orders from total orders.
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