Representing posets with \(k\)-tournaments (Q1815842)

A \(k\)-tournament \(T\), \(k\geq 3\), consists of a set \(V(T)\) of vertices and a set \(A(T)\) of \(k\)-tuples of distinct elements of \(V(T)\), called arcs, with the property that for each \(k\)-subset \(S\) of \(V(T)\), \(A(T)\) contains exactly one arc whose entries are the elements of \(S\). If \(T\) is a \(k\)-tournament and \(A\) is an arc of \(T\), we say that \(u\) precedes \(v\) in \(A\) if \(u\) is the \(i\)th coordinate of \(A\), \(v\) is the \(j\)th coordinate of \(A\), and \(i<j\). The author defines a binary relation \(P(T)\) on the vertex set of \(T\) by \((u,v) \in P(T)\) if and only if \(u=v\) or \(u\) preceds \(v\) in every arc of \(T\) which contains both \(u\) and \(v\). Let \({\mathcal P} = (X,P)\) be a poset, and let \(T\) be a \(k\)-tournament with \(k\geq 3\). \(T\) is said to represent \({\mathcal P}\) if there is a bijection \(f:V(T) \to X\) such that \((u,v) \in P(T)\) if and only if \(u<v\) in \(P\). The main theorem proved is the following. Let \({\mathcal P} = (X,P)\) be a poset, and \(k\) an integer satisfying \(k\geq 3\). Then there is a \(k\)-tournament \(T\) such that \(T\) represents \({\mathcal P}\) if and only if either \(k= |X|\) and \({\mathcal P}\) is a linear order, or \(k\leq |X|-1\).