Free Stone algebras (Q1579568)

An algebra \(L=(L;\vee, \wedge,\phantom{}^*, 0,1)\) of type \((2,2,1,0,0)\) is called a Stone algebra, if \((L;\vee, \wedge,0,1)\) is a bounded distributive lattice, \(\phantom{}^*\) is a pseudocomplementation, i.e. \(a\wedge x=0\) if and only if \(x\leq a^*\), and \(L\) satisfies the identity \(x^*\vee x^{**}=1\). An element \(x\in L\) is called closed, if \(x=x^{**}\). It can be shown that the set \(B(L)\) of all closed elements in \(L\) is a subalgebra of \(L\) and forms a Boolean algebra. The authors prove that every Stone algebra \(L\) can be represented as a weak Boolean product over the Boolean space dual to \(B(L)\). Note that a weak Boolean product is a sheaf construction over a Boolean space [see \textit{S. Burris} and \textit{H. Werner}, Trans. Am. Math. Soc. 248, 269-309 (1979; Zbl 0411.03022)]. This representation of Stone algebras enables a new characterization of free Stone algebras which extends an earlier result of \textit{R. Balbes} and \textit{A. Horn} [Duke Math. J. 37, 537-545 (1970; Zbl 0207.02802)] for free Stone algebras with finitely many generators.