Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 12, 2026

Markowsky's theorem (order theory)

In mathematics, Markowsky's theorem states: every chain-complete poset is a dcpo wherea poset is chain-complete if each chain in it has a least upper bound. a poset is a dcpo if each directed set in it has a least upper bound.

Last revised
Jun 12, 2026
Read time
≈ 1 min
Length
112 w
Citations
1
Source

In mathematics, Markowsky's theorem states: every chain-complete poset is a dcpo where

  • a poset is chain-complete if each chain in it has a least upper bound.
  • a poset is a dcpo if each directed set in it has a least upper bound.

Since a dcpo is chain-complete (as a chain is directed), the converse of the theorem is trivial.

A known proof uses Iwamura's lemma and ordinals.1

References

References