complemented lattice

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In the mathematical discipline of order theory, a complemented lattice is a bounded lattice (with least element 0
and greatest element 1), in which every element a has a complement, i.e. an element b satisfying a b = 1 and a
b = 0. Complements need not be unique.
A relatively complemented lattice is a lattice such that every interval [c, d], viewed as a bounded lattice in its own
right, is a complemented lattice.
An orthocomplementation on a complemented lattice is an involution which is order-reversing and maps each el-
ement to a complement. An orthocomplemented lattice satisfying a weak form of the modular law is called an
orthomodular lattice.
In distributive lattices, complements are unique. Every complemented distributive lattice has a unique orthocomple-
mentation and is in fact a Boolean algebra.

1 Denition and basic properties

A complemented lattice is a bounded lattice (with least element 0 and greatest element 1), in which every element
a has a complement, i.e. an element b such that

a b = 1 and a b = 0.

In general an element may have more than one complement. However, in a (bounded) distributive lattice every
element will have at most one complement.[1] A lattice in which every element has exactly one complement is called
a uniquely complemented lattice[2]
A lattice with the property that every interval (viewed as a sublattice) is complemented is called a relatively com-
plemented lattice. In other words, a relatively complemented lattice is characterized by the property that for every
element a in an interval [c, d] there is an element b such that

a b = d and a b = c.

Such an element b is called a complement of a relative to the interval.

A distributive lattice is complemented if and only if it is bounded and relatively complemented.[3][4] The lattice of
subspaces of a vector space provide an example of a complemented lattice that is not, in general, distributive.

2 Orthocomplementation
See also: De Morgan algebra

An orthocomplementation on a bounded lattice is a function that maps each element a to an orthocomplement

a in such a way that the following axioms are satised:[5]

Complement law a a = 1 and a a = 0.

Involution law a = a.

1
2 2 ORTHOCOMPLEMENTATION

Hasse diagram of a complemented lattice

A point and a line of the Fano plane are complements, when p
/l

Order-reversing if a b then b a .

An orthocomplemented lattice or ortholattice is a bounded lattice which is equipped with an orthocomplemen-

tation. The lattice of subspaces of an inner product space, and the orthogonal complement operation, provides an
example of an orthocomplemented lattice that is not, in general, distributive.[6]
 3

In the pentagon lattice N 5 , the node on the right-hand side has two complements.

The diamond lattice M 3 admits no orthocomplementation.

The lattice M 4 admits 3 orthocomplementations.

The hexagon lattice admits a unique orthocomplementation, but it is not uniquely comple-
mented.

Boolean algebras are a special case of orthocomplemented lattices, which in turn are a special case of complemented
lattices (with extra structure). The ortholattices are most often used in quantum logic, where the closed subspaces of
a separable Hilbert space represent quantum propositions and behave as an orthocomplemented lattice.
Orthocomplemented lattices, like Boolean algebras, satisfy de Morgans laws:

(a b) = a b
(a b) = a b .

3 Orthomodular lattices
A lattice is called modular if for all elements a, b and c the implication

if a c, then a (b c) = (a b) c

holds. This is weaker than distributivity; e.g. the above-shown lattice M 3 is modular, but not distributive. A natural
further weakening of this condition for orthocomplemented lattices, necessary for applications in quantum logic, is
to require it only in the special case b = a . An orthomodular lattice is therefore dened as an orthocomplemented
lattice such that for any two elements the implication
4 7 EXTERNAL LINKS

if a c, then a (a c) = c

holds.
Lattices of this form are of crucial importance for the study of quantum logic, since they are part of the axiomisation
of the Hilbert space formulation of quantum mechanics. Garrett Birkho and John von Neumann observed that
the propositional calculus in quantum logic is formally indistinguishable from the calculus of linear subspaces [of
a Hilbert space] with respect to set products, linear sums and orthogonal complements corresponding to the roles
of and, or and not in Boolean lattices. This remark has spurred interest in the closed subspaces of a Hilbert space,
which form an orthomodular lattice.[7]

4 See also
Pseudocomplemented lattice

5 Notes
[1] Grtzer (1971), Lemma I.6.1, p. 47. Rutherford (1965), Theorem 9.3 p. 25.

[2] Stern, Manfred (1999), Semimodular Lattices: Theory and Applications, Encyclopedia of Mathematics and its Applications,
Cambridge University Press, p. 29, ISBN 9780521461054.

[3] Grtzer (1971), Lemma I.6.2, p. 48. This result holds more generally for modular lattices, see Exercise 4, p. 50.

[4] Birkho (1961), Corollary IX.1, p. 134

[5] Stern (1999), p. 11.

[6] The Unapologetic Mathematician: Orthogonal Complements and the Lattice of Subspaces.

[7] Ranganathan Padmanabhan; Sergiu Rudeanu (2008). Axioms for lattices and boolean algebras. World Scientic. p. 128.
ISBN 978-981-283-454-6.

6 References
Birkho, Garrett (1961). Lattice Theory. American Mathematical Society.

Grtzer, George (1971). Lattice Theory: First Concepts and Distributive Lattices. W. H. Freeman and Company.
ISBN 978-0-7167-0442-3.

Grtzer, George (1978). General Lattice Theory. Basel, Switzerland: Birkhuser. ISBN 978-0-12-295750-5.
Rutherford, Daniel Edwin (1965). Introduction to Lattice Theory. Oliver and Boyd.

7 External links
Complemented lattice. PlanetMath.
Relative complement. PlanetMath.

Uniquely complemented lattice. PlanetMath.

Orthocomplemented lattice. PlanetMath.
 5

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