Skew Boolean algebras (Q2639883)

A skew Boolean algebra is (essentially) a skew lattice (S,\(\vee,\wedge)\), all of whose principal subalgebras \(x\wedge S\wedge x\) are Boolean lattices. A variant of this definition shows that the class of skew Boolean algebras is a variety. The paper gives numerous results on the variety of skew Boolean algebras. For example, the subdirectly irreducible, skew Boolean algebras are characterized, and a representation theorem follows as a corollary. The main part of the paper can be viewed as an amalgamation of the elementary theory of Boolean algebras with the theory of normal bands. In addition to its discussion of the general theory of skew Boolean algebras, the paper examines several examples, including an application to ring theory: if the set E of idempotents in an associative ring is closed under multiplication, then E is a skew Boolean algebra with the operations \(x\wedge y=xy\), and \(x\vee y=x+y+yx-xyx-yxy\).