Projective \(p\)-algebras (Q1175935)

The authors give a characterization of projective \(p\)-algebras. A \(p\)- algebra is a universal algebra \((L;\lor,\land,^*,0,1)\) where * is the unary operation of pseudocomplementation. Define \(B(L)=\{x\in L: x=x^{**}\}\). A finite subset \(U\subseteq L\) is said to be a cover (a dual \(p\)-cover) of \(a\in L\) if \(a\leq\lor U\). A cover [a dual \(p\)-cover{]} \(U\) is trivial if \(a\leq u\) for some \(u\in U\) (a is join-prime) [if \(a\geq\land U\) implies either \(a\geq\land U^{**}\) or \(a\geq u\)]. We write \(U\ll V\) (\(U\), \(V\) finite) if for each \(u\in U\) there is a \(v\in V\) with \(u\leq v\); again, \(U\gg^* V\) if for every \(u\in U\) either \(u\geq\land V^{**}\) or there is a \(v\in V\) with \(u\geq v\). The condition \((W)\) is: \(a\land b\leq c\lor d\) iff \(\{a,b,c,d\}\cap [a \land b,c \lor d]\neq\emptyset\). The definitions of the sets \(K(L)\) and \(K'(L)\) are more complicated and we omit them. A \(p\)-algebra \(P\) is projective if for \(p\)- algebras \(A\), \(B\) such that \(g: A\to B\) is a homomorphism of \(A\) onto \(B\), for every homomorphism \(f: P\to B\) there is a homomorphism \(h: P\to A\) with \(gh(a)=f(a)\) for all \(a\in P\). The main result: Let \(P\) be a \(p\)-algebra. Then \(P\) is projective in the class of all \(p\)-algebras iff \(L\) satisfies the following conditions: (1) every element \(a\in B(L)\) (i.e. \(a^{**}=a\)) is join-prime; (2) \((W)\); (3) \(K(L)=L=K'(L)\); (4) for each \(a\in L\) there is a finite set \(S(a)\) of nontrivial covers of \(a\) such that, if \(U\) is any nontrivial cover of \(a\), then \(V\ll U\) for some \(V\in S(a)\); (5) an analogous condition for ``dual \(p\)-cover and \(\gg^*\)''; (6) for each \(a\in L\) there are two finite sets \(A(a)=\{c\in L: c\leq a\}\) and \(B(a)=\{c\in L: c\geq a\}\) such that, if \(a\leq b\), then \(A(a)\cap B(b)\neq\emptyset\). In addition, \(A(a)\subseteq B(L)\) whenever \(a\in B(L)\), \(c\in A(a)\) implies \(c^{**}\in A(a)\), and \(c\in B(b)\) implies \(c^{**}\in B(b)\) whenever \(b\in B(L)\); (7) \(B(L)\) is projective Boolean algebra. Finitely generated projective \(p\)-algebras are characterized, too.