Kleitman's conjecture on maximal intersecting subfamilies of the Boolean lattice

Let [n]={1,,n}[n]=\{1,\ldots,n\}, let 2[n]2^{[n]} denote its power set, and let F\mathcal{F} be a maximal intersecting subfamily of 2[n]2^{[n]}. For each A[n]A\subseteq[n], let eAe_A be the corresponding standard basis vector of R2[n]\mathbb{R}^{2^{[n]}}. Define the embedding

F=A[n]eA{+1,if AF and AcF,1,if AF and AcF,0,otherwise.\vec{\mathcal{F}}=\sum_{A\subseteq[n]}e_A\begin{cases}+1,&\text{if }A\in\mathcal{F}\text{ and }A^c\notin\mathcal{F},\\-1,&\text{if }A\notin\mathcal{F}\text{ and }A^c\in\mathcal{F},\\0,&\text{otherwise.}\end{cases}

For a[n]a\in[n], let Sa(2[n])={A[n]:aA}\mathcal{S}_a(2^{[n]})=\{A\subseteq[n]:a\in A\} and let Sa(2[n])\vec{\mathcal{S}}_a(2^{[n]}) denote its embedding. Kleitman's conjecture. There exist non-negative numbers cac_a and λ(A,B)\lambda_{(A,B)} such that

F=a[n]caSa(2[n])+AB[n]λ(A,B)(eBeA),\vec{\mathcal{F}}=\sum_{a\in[n]}c_a\vec{\mathcal{S}}_a(2^{[n]})+\sum_{A\subseteq B\subseteq[n]}\lambda_{(A,B)}(e_B-e_A),

where a[n]ca=1\sum_{a\in[n]}c_a=1.

Kleitman proposed this as a strengthening of Chvátal's conjecture by characterizing the embedded vectors of maximal intersecting subfamilies of the Boolean lattice. The paper states partial results and constructions but does not report a resolution, so the conjecture is recorded as open.

Sources & referencesView supporting material

Primary source

Jonathan Cary, “Some results on Kleitman's conjecture”, arXiv:2402.03150 (2026).

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