Semiorders and the 1/3-2/3 conjecture (Q1823267)

If \((X,<)\) is a finite poset and x, y a pair of elements of X, then P(x\(\prec y)\) denotes the proportion of linear extensions of \((X,<)\) with x below y. It is a well-known conjecture that for every finite poset \((X,<)\) which is not a chain, there are elements \(x,y\in X\) with \(1/3\leq P(x\prec y)\leq 2/3\). A semiorder is a partial order \((X,<)\) satisfying for every a,b,c,d\(\in X:\) (1) If \(a<b\) and \(c<d\), then at least one of \(a<d\) and \(c<b\) holds; (2) If \(a<b\) and \(b<c\), then at least one of \(a<b\) and \(d<c\) holds. In the paper, the author proves the conjecture for finite semiorders. So called 2-separated semiorders appear to be essential in the proof. All locally finite 2-separated posets of bounded width are classified here. The paper also contains new conjectures.