Chain Decomposition Theorems for Ordered Sets (and Other Musings)

Abstract

A brief introduction to the theory of ordered sets and lattice theory is given. To illustrate proof techniques in the theory of ordered sets, a generalization of a conjecture of Daykin and Daykin, concerning the structure of posets that can be partitioned into chains in a ``strong'' way, is proved. The result is motivated by a conjecture of Graham's concerning probability correlation inequalities for linear extensions of finite posets.