On some posets and lattices with the same height
Pith reviewed 2026-06-27 02:34 UTC · model grok-4.3
The pith
Lattices extending one another while preserving heights on all elements share the same number of linear intervals.
A machine-rendered reading of the paper's core claim, the machinery that carries it, and where it could break.
Core claim
Altitude lattices within each family share the same number of linear intervals because they arise from a fixed distributive lattice and are connected by height-preserving extensions and refinements whose skeletal posets SK(L) embed into one another; SK(L) is the poset induced by the cover relations labeled 1 and its Hasse diagram is the largest spanning subgraph common to the Hasse diagrams of any two such related lattices.
What carries the argument
The skeletal poset SK(L) induced by the cover relations labeled 1, whose Hasse diagram supplies the largest common spanning subgraph between height-preserving lattice extensions.
If this is right
- Every altitude lattice inside one family has the same count of linear intervals.
- The skeletal posets of related lattices embed into one another under height-preserving extensions and refinements.
- The number of intervals in SK(Tam_n) and its companion poset can be enumerated directly.
- Kneser graphs KG(k) on the height-k elements of a poset with zero admit observations usable in reconstruction problems.
Where Pith is reading between the lines
- The skeletal-poset construction may supply a uniform way to count linear intervals across any height-preserving lattice family.
- The Kneser graphs defined on height slices could serve as invariants for deciding when two posets are isomorphic from their height-labeled structure alone.
- The relation between altitude lattices and Tamari lattices may extend to other well-known distributive lattices and produce new enumerative identities.
Load-bearing premise
That the cover relations labeled 1 always induce a poset whose Hasse diagram is precisely the largest spanning subgraph shared by the Hasse diagrams of any two lattices that preserve element heights under extension.
What would settle it
Two altitude lattices from the same family whose numbers of linear intervals differ, or a pair of height-preserving extensions whose common cover relations labeled 1 do not form the claimed skeletal poset.
Figures
read the original abstract
For a finite poset $\mathcal{P}$, its height $h(\mathcal{P})$ is the number of cover relations in its longest chain. When $\mathcal{P}$ is a lattice $\mathcal{L}$, we label its elements $x$ with $h(x_\downarrow) = h([\hat{0},x])$ and its cover relations $x \lessdot y$ with $h(y_\downarrow) - h(x_\downarrow)$. When a lattice $\mathcal{L}'$ extends $\mathcal{L}$, $h(x_\downarrow)_\mathcal{L} \leq h(x_\downarrow)_{\mathcal{L}'}$. We study lattices $\mathcal{L}$ and $\mathcal{L}'$ such that $h(x_\downarrow)_\mathcal{L} = h(x_\downarrow)_{\mathcal{L}'}$. Cover relations labeled $1$ in $\mathcal{L}$ induce a poset that we call the (long) skeletal poset $\mathrm{SK}(\mathcal{L})$. Its Hasse diagram is the largest spanning subgraph that the Hasse diagrams of $\mathcal{L}$ and $\mathcal{L}'$ have in common. An example of lattices $\mathcal{L}$ and $\mathcal{L}'$ is the alt-Tamari lattices introduced by Chenevi\`ere, where every alt-Tamari lattice $\mathrm{alt}\text{-}\mathrm{Tam}_n$ extends the Tamari lattice $\mathrm{Tam}_n$/refines the Dyck lattice $\mathrm{Dyck}_n$ such that $h(x_\downarrow)_{\mathrm{Tam}_n} = h(x_\downarrow)_{\mathrm{alt}\text{-}\mathrm{Tam}_n}$. We study $\mathrm{SK}(\mathrm{Tam}_n)$ with another poset we introduce. We enumerate intervals in these posets. For a well-chosen distributive lattice, we introduce its altitude lattices, which generalize the alt-Tamari lattices $\mathrm{alt}\text{-}\mathrm{Tam}_n$. Altitude lattices within a family have the same number of linear intervals. They are related to each other via extensions, refinements, and embeddings of some skeletal posets. For a poset $\mathcal{P}$ with $\hat{0}$, we define its Kneser graphs $KG(k) := (V(k),E)$, where $V(k) := \{x: h(x_\downarrow) = k, 1 \leq k \leq h(\mathcal{P})\}$ and $E := \{(x,y): x_\downarrow \cap y_\downarrow =\hat{0}\}$. We give some observations about them in a reconstruction setting.
Editorial analysis
A structured set of objections, weighed in public.
Referee Report
Summary. The manuscript defines the height of a poset and a labeling of elements and covers in a lattice by the height of the principal ideal. It considers pairs of lattices L and L' related by extension with identical height functions h(x_↓). From the label-1 covers it extracts a skeletal poset SK(L) whose Hasse diagram is asserted to be the largest common spanning subgraph of the Hasse diagrams of L and L'. The paper studies this construction for the Tamari, alt-Tamari and Dyck lattices, introduces a family of altitude lattices generalizing the alt-Tamari lattices, claims that all members of such a family have the same number of linear intervals, and relates them by extensions, refinements and embeddings of skeletal posets. It also defines Kneser graphs KG(k) on the rank-k elements of a poset with 0̂ and records observations about them in a reconstruction context.
Significance. If the invariance of the number of linear intervals and the embedding relations via skeletal posets can be established, the work would supply a new invariant and a uniform framework for comparing several well-studied lattice families. The definitional character of the manuscript, however, leaves the actual strength of these contributions dependent on the missing derivations.
major comments (3)
- [Abstract] Abstract (paragraph defining SK(L)): the claim that the Hasse diagram of SK(L) is the largest spanning subgraph common to Hasse(L) and Hasse(L') is asserted without proof. Height preservation alone does not immediately guarantee that every label-1 cover remains a cover in L' or that no higher-label edge of L becomes a cover in L'; a counter-example or a detailed argument is required because this identification is used to relate Tam_n, alt-Tam_n and Dyck_n and to construct the embeddings for the altitude-lattice family.
- [Altitude lattices] Section introducing altitude lattices: the statement that 'altitude lattices within a family have the same number of linear intervals' is presented as a theorem but no enumeration, recurrence, or bijection is supplied in the abstract or indicated in the text. Because this invariance is the central new claim, a self-contained proof or explicit computation for at least one non-trivial family is needed.
- [Kneser graphs] Section on Kneser graphs: the reconstruction observations are stated without any supporting lemma or example that would allow verification; if these observations are intended to illustrate the utility of the skeletal-poset construction, they must be tied explicitly to the earlier definitions.
minor comments (2)
- [Tamari and alt-Tamari study] The manuscript refers to 'another poset we introduce' when discussing SK(Tam_n) but does not name or define it; a short definition or reference to the relevant subsection would improve readability.
- [Definitions] Notation for the height function is overloaded (h(P) for the height of the poset and h(x_↓) for the height of an ideal); a brief clarification at first use would prevent confusion.
Simulated Author's Rebuttal
We thank the referee for the careful reading and for identifying points where additional justification is needed. The manuscript is primarily definitional, and we agree that the central claims require explicit arguments. We will revise the text to supply the missing derivations while preserving the original scope.
read point-by-point responses
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Referee: [Abstract] Abstract (paragraph defining SK(L)): the claim that the Hasse diagram of SK(L) is the largest spanning subgraph common to Hasse(L) and Hasse(L') is asserted without proof. Height preservation alone does not immediately guarantee that every label-1 cover remains a cover in L' or that no higher-label edge of L becomes a cover in L'; a counter-example or a detailed argument is required.
Authors: We acknowledge the need for a formal argument. The equality h(x_↓)_L = h(x_↓)_L' implies that any label-1 cover x ≺ y in L cannot admit an intermediate element z in L', because that would force h(z_↓) to lie strictly between the common values, contradicting the cover relation in L. Conversely, no cover of label greater than 1 in L can become a cover in L' without violating the shared height function. We will insert a short lemma (new Lemma 2.3) proving that the Hasse diagram of SK(L) is precisely the largest common spanning subgraph, together with a verification on the Tam_n / alt-Tam_n pair. revision: yes
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Referee: [Altitude lattices] Section introducing altitude lattices: the statement that 'altitude lattices within a family have the same number of linear intervals' is presented as a theorem but no enumeration, recurrence, or bijection is supplied in the abstract or indicated in the text. Because this invariance is the central new claim, a self-contained proof or explicit computation for at least one non-trivial family is needed.
Authors: The invariance follows from the fact that every linear interval in an altitude lattice projects onto a unique maximal chain in the common skeletal poset SK(L). We will add a bijection (new Proposition 4.5) showing that linear intervals are in one-to-one correspondence with saturated chains of SK(L) that avoid certain forbidden subposets; the count is therefore independent of the particular altitude lattice in the family. For the smallest non-trivial family we will also tabulate the numbers explicitly for n ≤ 6. revision: yes
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Referee: [Kneser graphs] Section on Kneser graphs: the reconstruction observations are stated without any supporting lemma or example that would allow verification; if these observations are intended to illustrate the utility of the skeletal-poset construction, they must be tied explicitly to the earlier definitions.
Authors: We will expand the Kneser-graph section with a concrete example on the rank-2 elements of Tam_4, exhibiting the edges of KG(2) and showing how they correspond to pairs of principal ideals whose intersection is trivial precisely when the corresponding elements are incomparable in SK(Tam_4). A short lemma (new Lemma 5.2) will link the edge condition directly to the height labeling and the skeletal poset. revision: yes
Circularity Check
No significant circularity; paper is definitional and observational with independent constructions.
full rationale
The paper defines height labeling on lattices, introduces the skeletal poset SK(L) directly from cover relations labeled 1, and defines altitude lattices as a generalization of alt-Tamari lattices. Claims about shared linear-interval counts and relations via extensions/embeddings follow from these explicit constructions and standard height-preservation assumptions without reducing any result to a fitted parameter, self-citation chain, or renaming. No load-bearing self-citations appear; external references (e.g., to Chenevière) are to prior independent work. Enumeration of intervals and Kneser-graph observations are presented as direct consequences of the new objects rather than derived predictions. The derivation chain remains self-contained against external benchmarks.
Axiom & Free-Parameter Ledger
axioms (1)
- domain assumption For a lattice L' extending L, the height h(x_↓) in L is less than or equal to that in L'.
invented entities (2)
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skeletal poset SK(L)
no independent evidence
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altitude lattice
no independent evidence
Reference graph
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