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Section 18.5 Graph for an equivalence relation

Given an equivalence relation on a finite set \(A\text{,}\) what will we observe if we draw the relation’s graph?
  • Since an equivalence relation is reflexive, we might as well omit the loops at each node.
  • Since an equivalence relation is symmetric, we might as well replace the pairs of arrows between each related pair of nodes with a single edge, turning the directed graph into an ordinary graph.
  • Since an equivalence relation partitions a set into a disjoint union of equivalence classes (Theorem 18.3.8), the graph of an equivalence relation will be disconnected, with each connected component representing a specific equivalence class.
  • Since each element in an equivalence class is equivalent to every other element in the class (Statement 2 of Proposition 18.3.3), each connected component in the graph will be complete.

Example 18.5.1. Graph of the “same cardinality” equivalence relation.

Let \(A = \{a,b,c,d\}\text{,}\) and let \(\mathord{\equiv}\) be the equivalence relation on \(\powset{A}\) defined by \(B \equiv B'\) if \(\card{B} = \card{B'}\text{.}\) That is, two subsets of \(A\) will be considered equivalent if they contain the same number of elements. Figure 18.5.2 contains the graph for \(\mathord{\equiv}\text{,}\) with reflexive loops and symmetric bidirectional arrows omitted.
Graph for equivalence of cardinality on a power set.
Figure 18.5.2. Graph for equivalence of cardinality on a power set.