Improved Bonferroni inequalities via union-closed set systems (Q1586127)

An abstract tube is a pair \(({\mathcal A},{\mathcal S})\), where \(\mathcal A\) is a finite collection \(\{A_v\}_{v\in V}\) of sets, and \({\mathcal S}\subseteq{\mathcal P}^*(V)\) is an abstract simplicial complex, with the property that, for any \(\omega\in\bigcup_{v\in V}A_v\), the abstract simplicial complex \({\mathcal S}:=\{I\in{\mathcal S}\mid\omega\in\bigcap_{i\in I}A_i\}\) is contractible -- i.e.\ such that it has a contractible geometric realization. The following is the ``main result of the paper, which strongly generalizes the main results of \textit{K. Dohmen} [Improved inclusion-exclusion identities and inequalities based on a particular class of abstract tubes, Electron. J. Probab. 4, Paper No. 5 (1999; Zbl 0920.05008), An improvement of the inclusion-exclusion principle, Arch. Math. 72, No. 4, 298-303 (1999; Zbl 0934.05011]'': Let \(\{A_v\}_{v\in V}\) be a finite collection of sets, and let \({\mathcal X}\) be a set of non-empty subsets of \(V\) that is closed under unions, and such that, for any \(X\in{\mathcal X}\), \(\bigcap_{x\in X}A_x\subseteq\bigcup_{v\notin X}A_v\). Then \((\{A_v\}_{v\in V}, \{I\subseteq V\mid I\neq\varnothing\) and \(I\not\supseteq X\) for any \(X\in{\mathcal X}\})\) is an abstract tube. As a second corollary he deduces ``the main result'' of the first paper cited.