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Logical matrix

Matrix of binary truth values

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Matrix representation of a relation

If R is a binary relation between the finite indexed sets X and Y (so R ⊆ X ×Y), then R can be represented by the logical matrix M whose row and column indices index the elements of X and Y, respectively, such that the entries of M are defined by

mi,j={1(xi,yj)∈R,0(xi,yj)∉R.

In order to designate the row and column numbers of the matrix, the sets X and Y are indexed with positive integers: i ranges from 1 to the cardinality (size) of X, and j ranges from 1 to the cardinality of Y. See the article on indexed sets for more detail.

The transpose RT of the logical matrix R of a binary relation corresponds to the converse relation.

Example

The binary relation R on the set {1, 2, 3, 4} is defined so that aRb holds if and only if a divides b evenly, with no remainder. For example, 2R4 holds because 2 divides 4 without leaving a remainder, but 3R4 does not hold because when 3 divides 4, there is a remainder of 1. The following set is the set of pairs for which the relation R holds.

{(1, 1), (1, 2), (1, 3), (1, 4), (2, 2), (2, 4), (3, 3), (4, 4)}.

The corresponding representation as a logical matrix is

(1111010100100001),

which includes a diagonal of ones, since each number divides itself.

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