Derived Semidistributive Lattices

Abstract

For L a finite lattice, let C(L) denote the set of pairs g = (g_0,g_1) such that g_0 is a lower cover of g_1 and order it as follows: g <= d iff g_0 <= d_0, g_1 <= d_1, but not g_1 <= d_0. Let C(L,g) denote the connected component of g in this poset. Our main result states that C(L,g) is a semidistributive lattice if L is semidistributive, and that C(L,g) is a bounded lattice if L is bounded. Let S_n be the permutohedron on n letters and T_n be the associahedron on n+1 letters. Explicit computations show that C(S_n,a) = S_{n-1} and C(T_n,a) = T_{n-1}, up to isomorphism, whenever a is an atom. These results are consequences of new characterizations of finite join semidistributive and finite lower bounded lattices: (i) a finite lattice is join semidistributive if and only if the projection sending g in C(L) to g_0 in L creates pullbacks, (ii) a finite join semidistributive lattice is lower bounded if and only if it has a strict facet labelling. Strict facet labellings, as defined here, are generalization of the tools used by Barbut et al. to prove that lattices of Coxeter groups are bounded.