Hall's Marriage Theorem - Definitions and Statement of The Theorem

Definitions and Statement of The Theorem

Let S be a family of finite sets, where the family may contain an infinite number of sets and the individual sets may be repeated multiple times.

A transversal for S is a set T and a bijection f from T to S such that for all t in T, t is a member of f(t). An alternative term for transversal is system of distinct representatives or "SDR".

The collection S satisfies the marriage condition (MC) if and only if for each subcollection, we have

In other words, the number of sets in each subcollection W is less than or equal to the number of distinct elements in the union over the subcollection W.

Hall's theorem states that S has a transversal (SDR) if and only if S satisfies the marriage condition.

Read more about this topic:  Hall's Marriage Theorem

Famous quotes containing the words definitions, statement and/or theorem:

    The loosening, for some people, of rigid role definitions for men and women has shown that dads can be great at calming babies—if they take the time and make the effort to learn how. It’s that time and effort that not only teaches the dad how to calm the babies, but also turns him into a parent, just as the time and effort the mother puts into the babies turns her into a parent.
    Pamela Patrick Novotny (20th century)

    He that writes to himself writes to an eternal public. That statement only is fit to be made public, which you have come at in attempting to satisfy your own curiosity.
    Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)

    To insure the adoration of a theorem for any length of time, faith is not enough, a police force is needed as well.
    Albert Camus (1913–1960)