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Theorem

Sperner's Theorem

Combinatorics and Graph Theory

The largest possible antichain of subsets of an n-element set, meaning a family in which no member is a subset of another, has size equal to the central binomial coefficient, achieved by taking all subsets of the middle size. Proved by Emanuel Sperner, it is a foundational result of extremal set theory, distinct from the same mathematician's combinatorial lemma on simplex triangulations.

Facts
Statement
Sperner's theorem, in discrete mathematics, describes the largest possible families of finite sets none of which contain any other sets in the family. 1
Proof Year
1928 1
Classification
Statement Form
Inequality 1
Connections

Has Statement Form

Inequality, Concepts

Entity-backed identity for the statement-form enum value this theorem already carries, resolved to a mathematics concept by an explicit value-to-entity map (phase 3 bucket conversion, docs\design_entity_backed_browse_buckets_20260928.md). The statement-form fact itself stays on the theorem unchanged.

In Branch

Sources
1. Sperner's Theorem (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia Foundation
  • lead paragraph, opening sentence
    Sperner's theorem, in discrete mathematics, describes the largest possible families of finite sets none of which contain any other sets in the family.
  • lead paragraph, sentence naming the publication year
    It is named after Emanuel Sperner, who published it in 1928.
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