Greatest element and least element

In mathematics, especially in order theory, the greatest element of a subset of a partially ordered set is an element of that is greater than every other element of. The term least element is defined dually, that is, it is an element of that is smaller than every other element of

Definitions

Let be a preordered set and let
An element is said to be if and if it also satisfies:
By switching the side of the relation that is on in the above definition, the definition of a least element of is obtained. Explicitly, an element is said to be if and if it also satisfies:
If is also a partially ordered set then can have at most one greatest element and it can have at most one least element. Whenever a greatest element of exists and is unique then this element is called greatest element of . The terminology least element of is defined similarly.
If has a greatest element then this element is also called of

Relationship to upper/lower bounds

Greatest elements are closely related to upper bounds.
Let be a preordered set and let
An is an element such that and for all Importantly, an upper bound of in is required to be an element of
If then is a greatest element of if and only if is an upper bound of in In particular, any greatest element of is also an upper bound of but an upper bound of in is a greatest element of if and only if it to
In the particular case where the definition of " is an upper bound of " becomes: is an element such that and for all which is to the definition of a greatest element given before.
Thus is a greatest element of if and only if is an upper bound of .
If is an upper bound of that is not an upper bound of then can be a greatest element of .
In particular, it is possible for to simultaneously have a greatest element for there to exist some upper bound of .
Even if a set has some upper bounds, it need not have a greatest element, as shown by the example of the negative real numbers.
This example also demonstrates that the existence of a least upper bound does not imply the existence of a greatest element either.

Contrast to maximal elements and local/absolute maximums

A greatest element of a subset of a preordered set should not be confused with a maximal element of the set, which are elements that are not strictly smaller than any other element in the set.
Let be a preordered set and let
An element is said to be a if the following condition is satisfied:
If is a partially ordered set then is a maximal element of if and only if there does exist any such that and
A is defined to mean a maximal element of the subset
A set can have several maximal elements without having a greatest element.
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.
The dual terms are minimum and absolute minimum.
Together they are called the absolute extrema.
Similar conclusions hold for least elements.
;Role of comparability in distinguishing greatest vs. maximal elements
One of the most important differences between a greatest element and a maximal element of a preordered set has to do with what elements they are comparable to.
Two elements are said to be if or ; they are called if they are not comparable.
Because preorders are reflexive, every element is always comparable to itself.
Consequently, the only pairs of elements that could possibly be incomparable are pairs.
In general, however, preordered sets may have elements that are incomparable.
By definition, an element is a greatest element of if for every ; so by its very definition, a greatest element of must, in particular, be comparable to element in
This is not required of maximal elements.
Maximal elements of are required to be comparable to every element in
This is because unlike the definition of "greatest element", the definition of "maximal element" includes an important statement.
The defining condition for to be a maximal element of can be reworded as:
;Example where all elements are maximal but none are greatest
Suppose that is a set containing elements and define a partial order on by declaring that if and only if
If belong to then neither nor holds, which shows that all pairs of distinct elements in are comparable.
Consequently, can not possibly have a greatest element.
However, element is a maximal element of because there is exactly one element in that is both comparable to and that element being itself.
In contrast, if a preordered set does happen to have a greatest element then will necessarily be a maximal element of and moreover, as a consequence of the greatest element being comparable to element of if is also partially ordered then it is possible to conclude that is the maximal element of
However, the uniqueness conclusion is no longer guaranteed if the preordered set is also partially ordered.
For example, suppose that is a non-empty set and define a preorder on by declaring that holds for all The directed preordered set is partially ordered if and only if has exactly one element. All pairs of elements from are comparable and element of is a greatest element of So in particular, if has at least two elements then has multiple greatest elements.

Properties

Throughout, let be a partially ordered set and let

A set can have at most greatest element. Thus if a set has a greatest element then it is necessarily unique.
If it exists, then the greatest element of is an upper bound of that is also contained in
If is the greatest element of then is also a maximal element of and moreover, any other maximal element of will necessarily be equal to
* Thus if a set has several maximal elements then it cannot have a greatest element.
If satisfies the chain condition">chain (order theory)">chain condition, a subset of has a greatest element if, and only if, it has one maximal element.
When the restriction of to is a total order, then the notions of maximal element and greatest element coincide.
* However, this is not a necessary condition for whenever has a greatest element, the notions coincide, too, as stated above.
If the notions of maximal element and greatest element coincide on every two-element subset of then is a total order on
Sufficient conditions
A finite chain always has a greatest and a least element.
Top and bottom

The least and greatest element of the whole partially ordered set play a special role and are also called bottom and top, or zero and unit, respectively.
If both exist, the poset is called a bounded poset.
The notation of 0 and 1 is used preferably when the poset is a complemented lattice, and when no confusion is likely, i.e. when one is not talking about partial orders of numbers that already contain elements 0 and 1 different from bottom and top.
The existence of least and greatest elements is a special completeness property of a partial order.
Further introductory information is found in the article on order theory.

Examples

The subset of integers has no upper bound in the set of real numbers.
Let the relation on be given by The set has upper bounds and but no least upper bound, and no greatest element.
In the rational numbers, the set of numbers with their square less than 2 has upper bounds but no greatest element and no least upper bound.
In the set of numbers less than 1 has a least upper bound, viz. 1, but no greatest element.
In the set of numbers less than or equal to 1 has a greatest element, viz. 1, which is also its least upper bound.
In with the product order, the set of pairs with has no upper bound.
In with the lexicographical order, this set has upper bounds, e.g. It has no least upper bound.