The fixed point property in ordered sets of width two (Q1095161): Difference between revisions

The authors study the fixed point property in partially ordered sets of width two (every antichain contains at most two elements). Four-crown towers and belfries are defined, where a four-crown tower is a lexicographic sum of two-element antichains over a well-ordered index- set, and a belfry is - loosely speaking - a four-crown tower with a top to it. Theorem 1. Let P be an ordered set of width two. (1.1) If P has the fixed point property, then it contains a belfry (in P). (1.2) If P is chain- complete, then the following statements are equivalent: (a) P has the fixed point property, (b) P contains a belfry (in P), (c) no four-crown tower in P is a retract of P, (d) P is dismantlable. - Theorem 2. Let P be an ordered set of width two. If P or Q is chain-complete (Q is a poset of arbitrary width), and both P and Q have the fixed point property, then \(P\times Q\) has the fixed point property.