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Fuzzy filters of MTL-algebras

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Impact Factor: 4.04 DOI: 10.1016/j.ins.2004.11.004 Source: DBLP

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Information Sciences 175 (2005) 120138

www.elsevier.com/locate/ins

Fuzzy lters of MTL-algebras

Young Bae Jun

a,*

, Yang Xu b, Xiao Hong Zhang

Department of Mathematics Education, Gyeongsang National University,

Chinju 660-701, South Korea
b
Department of Applied Mathematics, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu 610031,
Sichuan, China
c
Department of Mathematics, The Faculty of Science, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211,
Zhejiang, China
Received 19 August 2004; received in revised form 14 November 2004; accepted 15 November 2004

Abstract
Characterizations of fuzzy lters in MTL-algebras are given. The fuzzy lter generated by a fuzzy set is considered. The notion of Boolean fuzzy lters and MV-fuzzy lters are introduced and related properties are investigated. A condition for a fuzzy lter
to be Boolean is provided. A characterization of a Boolean fuzzy lter is given. A congruence relation on a MTL-algebra induced by a fuzzy lter is established, and we show
that the set of all congruence relations induced by a fuzzy lter is a completely distributive lattice.

2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Keywords: MTL-algebra; (Boolean) fuzzy lter; MV-fuzzy lter

Corresponding author. Tel.: +82 55 751 5674; fax: +82 55 751 6117.
E-mail addresses: ybjun@gsnu.ac.kr (Y.B. Jun), xuyang@swjtu.edu.cn (Y. Xu), zxhonghz@263.
net (X.H. Zhang).
0020-0255/$ - see front matter
2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.ins.2004.11.004

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121

1. Introduction
The logic MTL, Monoidal t-norm based logic, was introduced by Esteva
and Godo [1]. This logic is very interesting from many points of view. From
the logic point of view, it can be regarded as a weak system of Fuzzy Logic.
Indeed, it arises from Hajeks Basic Logic BL [2] by replacing the axiom
^ ! B $ A ^ B
A^A
by the weaker axiom
^ ! B ! A ^ B:
A^A
In connection with the logic MTL, Esteva and Godo [1] introduced a new
algebra, called a MTL-algebra, and studied several basic properties. They also
introduced the notion of (prime) lters in MTL-algebras. Zhang [6] studied further properties of lters in MTL-algebras, and introduced the notion of Boolean lters and MV-lters. Based on the fuzzy set theory, Kim et al. [3] studied
the fuzzy structure of lters in MTL-algebras. As a continuation of the paper
[3], we give characterizations of fuzzy lters in MTL-algebras, and investigate
further properties of fuzzy lters in MTL-algebras. We consider the fuzzication of Boolean lters and MV-lters, and study related properties. We discuss
the fuzzy lter generated by a fuzzy set. We provide a condition for a fuzzy lter to be Boolean. Using a fuzzy lter, we give a congruence relation on a
MTL-algebra, and show that the set of all congruence relations induced by a
fuzzy lter is a completely distributive lattice.

2. Preliminaries
By a residuated lattice we shall mean a lattice L = (L, 6, ^, _, , !, 0, 1) containing the least element 0 and the largest element 1, and endowed with two
binary operations  (called product) and ! (called residuum) such that
 is associative, commutative and isotone.
("x 2 L) (x  1 = x).
The Galois correspondence holds, that is,
8x; y; z 2 Lx  y 6 z () x 6 y ! z:
In a residuated lattice, the following are true (see [5]):
(a1) x 6 y () x ! y 1.
(a2) 0 ! x = 1, 1 ! x = x, x ! (y ! x) = 1.
(a3) y 6 (y ! x) ! x.

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(a4)
(a5)
(a6)
(a7)

x ! (y ! z) = (x  y) ! z = y ! (x ! z).
x ! y 6 (z ! x) ! (z ! y), (x ! y) 6 (y ! z) ! (x ! z).
y 6 x ) x ! z 6 y ! z, z ! y 6 z ! x.
(i 2 Cyi) ! x = i2C(yi ! x).

We dene x* = {y 2 Ljx  y = 0}, equivalently, x* = x ! 0. Then

(a8) 0* = 1, 1* = 0, x 6 x**, and x* = x***.
Based on the Hajeks results [2], Axioms of MTL and Formulas which are
provable in MTL, Esteva and Godo [1] dened the algebras, so called MTLalgebras, corresponding to the MTL-logic in the following way.
Denition 2.1. A MTL-algebra is a residuated lattice L = (L, 6, ^, _, , !, 0, 1)
satisfying the pre-linearity equation:
x ! y _ y ! x 1:
In a MTL-algebra, the following are true (see [6]):
(a9) x ! (y _ z) = (x ! y) _ (x ! z).
(a10) x  y 6 x ^ y.
Denition 2.2 [1]. Let L be a MTL-algebra. A nonempty subset F of L is
called a filter of L if it satises
(b1) ("x, y 2 F) (x  y 2 F).
(b2) ("x 2 F) ("y 2 L) (x 6 y ) y 2 F).
Since ^ is not denable from  and ! in a MTL-algebra, one could
consider that the further condition
(b3) ("x, y 2 F) (x ^ y 2 F)
should be also required for a lter. However the condition (b3) is indeed redundant because it is a consequence of conditions (b1) and (b2). Namely, since
x  y 6 x ^ y, if x, y 2 F the x  y 2 F and thus x ^ y 2 F as well.
Proposition 2.3 [6]. A nonempty subset F of a MTL-algebra L is a filter of L if
and only if it satisfies:
(b4) 1 2 F.
(b5) ("x 2 F) ("y 2 L) (x ! y 2 F ) y 2 F).

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123

Proof. Let F be a nonempty subset of L satisfying conditions (b4) and (b5). Let
x, y 2 L be such that x 6 y and x 2 F. Then x ! y = 1 2 F by (b4), and so y 2 F
by (b5). Thus (b2) is valid. Let x, y 2 F. Then
x ! y ! x  y x  y ! x  y 1 2 F ;
which implies from (b5) that x  y 2 F. Hence (b1) holds. Conversely, suppose
that F is a lter of L. Obviously 1 2 F by (b2). Let x, y 2 L be such that x 2 F
and x ! y 2 F. Then x  (x ! y) 2 F by (b1). Using (a3), we have
x 6 (x ! y) ! y, i.e., x ! ((x ! y) ! y) = 1 which implies from (a4) that
(x  (x ! y)) ! y = 1, i.e., (x  (x ! y)) 6 y. It follows from (b2) that y 2 F
so that (b5) is valid. This completes the proof. h

3. Fuzzy lters
In what follows let L denote a MTL-algebra unless otherwise specied. In
[3], Kim et al. dened the fuzzy lter in MTL-algebras as follows.
Denition 3.1 [3]. A fuzzy set l in L is called a fuzzy filter of L if it satises
(b6) ("x, y 2 L) (l(x  y) P min{l(x), l(y)}).
(b7) l is order-preserving, that is,
8x; y 2 Lx 6 y ) lx 6 ly:
Example 3.2. (1) Let L = [0, 1] and dene a product  and a residuum ! on L
as follows:




1
if x 6 y;
x ^ y if x y > 12 ;
x  y :
x ! y :
0:5  x _ y if x > y;
0
otherwise;
for all x, y 2 L. Then L is a MTL-algebra. Let l be a fuzzy set in L given by


a if x 2 0:5; 1;
lx :
b otherwise;
where a > b in [0, 1]. Then it is routine to verify that l is a fuzzy lter of L.
(2) Let L = [0, 1] and dene a product  and a residuum ! on L as follows:




x ^ y if x y > 1;
1
if x 6 y;
x  y :
x ! y :
0
otherwise;
1  x _ y otherwise;
for all x, y 2 L. Then L is a MTL-algebra. Let l1 and l2 be fuzzy sets in L given
by

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l1 x :


l2 x :

if x 2 0; 0:5;

a 0:5x2

if x 2 0:5; 1;

if x 2 0; 0:5;

a 0:3x if x 2 0:5; 1;

where a 2 [0, 0.5). Then l1 and l2 are fuzzy lters of L.

We rst give characterizations of a fuzzy lter.
Theorem 3.3. A fuzzy set l in L is a fuzzy filter of L if and only if it satisfies
(b8) ("x 2 L) (l(1) P l(x)).
(b7) ("x, y 2 L) (l(y) P min{l(x), l(x ! y)}).
Proof. Assume that l satises conditions (b8) and (b9). Let x, y 2 L be such
that x 6 y. Then x ! y = 1, and so
ly P minflx; l1g lx
by (b8) and (b9). Using (a4), we know that
x ! y ! x  y x  y ! x  y 1:
It follows from (b8) and (b9) that
lx  y P minfly; ly ! x  yg
P minfly; minflx; lx ! y ! x  ygg
minfly; minflx; l1gg minflx; lyg:
Thus (b6) is valid. Suppose that l is a fuzzy lter of L. Since x 6 1 for all x 2 L
it follows from (b7) that l(1) P l(x) for all x 2 L. Let x, y 2 L. Since
x 6 (x ! y) ! y, we have x  (x ! y) 6 y, by the Galois correspondence.
Hence
ly P lx  x ! y P minflx; lx ! yg
by (b7) and (b6). This completes the proof.

Theorem 3.4. A fuzzy set l in L is a fuzzy filter of L if and only if it satisfies

8a; b; c 2 La 6 b ! c ) lc P minfla; lbg:

Proof. Suppose that l is a fuzzy lter of L. Let a, b, c 2 L be such that

a 6 b ! c. Then l(a) 6 l(b ! c) by (b7), and so
lc P minflb; lb ! cg P minflb; lag

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125

by (b9). Conversely let l be a fuzzy set in L satisfying (1). Since x 6 x ! 1 for

all x 2 L, it follows from (1) that
l1 P minflx; lxg lx
for all x 2 L. Since x ! y 6 x ! y for all x, y 2 L, we have
ly P minflx; lx ! yg
for all x, y 2 L. Hence l is a fuzzy lter of L. h
Corollary 3.5. A fuzzy set l in L is a fuzzy filter of L if and only if it satisfies the
following assertion:
lx P minfla1 ; . . . ; lan g

whenever an ! (   ! (a1 ! x)  ) = 1 for every a1,    , an 2 L.

Proof. It can be easily proved by induction.

Theorem 3.6. For a filter F of L and a 2 L, let l be a fuzzy set in L defined by

s if x 2 fz 2 Lja _ z 2 F g;
lx :
t otherwise;
for all x 2 L where s > t in [0, 1]. Then l is a fuzzy filter of L.
Proof. Since a _ 1 2 F, we have 1 2 {z 2 Lja _ z 2 F} and so l(1) = s P l(x)
for all x 2 L. Now if y 2 {z 2 Lja _ z 2 F}, then clearly
ly s P minflx; lx ! yg:
Suppose that y 62 {z 2 Lja_z 2 F}. Then at least one of x and x ! y does not
belong to {z 2 Lja _ z 2 F}. Hence l(y) = min{l(x), l(x ! y)}, and therefore
l is a fuzzy lter of L. h
Lemma 3.7 [3]. A fuzzy set l in L is a fuzzy filter of L if and only if the level set
lt : fx 2 Ljlx P t; t 2 0; 1g
is either empty or a filter of L.
Theorem 3.8. If l is a fuzzy filter of L, then the set
Xa : fx 2 Ljlx P lag
is a filter of L for every a 2 L.

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Proof. Since l(1) P (x) for all x 2 L. we have 1 2 Xa. Let x, y 2 L be such that
x 2 Xa and x ! y 2 Xa. Then l(x) P l(a) and l(x ! y) P l(a). Since l is a
fuzzy lter of L; it follows from (b9) that
ly P minflx; lx ! yg P la
so that y 2 Xa. Hence Xa is a lter of L.

Theorem 3.9. Let a 2 L and let l be a fuzzy set in L. Then

(i) If Xa is a filter of L, then l satisfies the following implication
8x; y 2 Lla 6 minflx ! y; lxg ) la 6 ly:

(ii) If l satisfies (b8) and (3), then Xa is a filter of L.

Proof. (i) Assume that Xa is a lter of L. Let x, y 2 L be such that
la 6 minflx ! y; lxg:
Then x ! y 2 Xa and x 2 Xa. Using (b5), we have y 2 Xa and so l(y) P l(a).
(ii) Suppose that l satises (b8) and (3). From (b8) it follows that 1 2 Xa.
Let x, y 2 L be such that x 2 Xa and x ! y 2 Xa. Then l(a) 6 l(x) and
l(a) 6 l(x ! y), which imply that l(a) 6 min{l(x), l(x ! y)}. Thus
l(a) 6 l(y) by (3), and so y 2 Xa. Therefore Xa is a lter of L. h
Proposition 3.10. Let l be a fuzzy filter of L. Then the following are equivalent.
(i) ("x, y, z 2 L) (l (x ! z) P min{l (x ! (y ! z)), l(x ! y)}).
(ii) ("x, y 2 L) (l(x ! y) P l(x ! (x ! y))).
(iii) ("x, y, z 2 L) (l((x ! y) ! (x ! z)) P (x ! (y ! z))).
Proof. (i) ) (ii) Suppose that l satises the condition (i). Taking z = y and
y = x in (i) and using (b8), we have
lx ! y P minflx ! x ! y; lx ! xg
minflx ! x ! y; l1g
lx ! x ! y
for all x, y, z 2 L.
(ii) ) (iii) Suppose that l satises the condition (ii) and let x, y, z 2 L. Since
x ! (y ! z) 6 x ! ((x ! y) ! (x ! z)), it follows that

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127

lx ! y ! x ! z lx ! x ! y ! z
P lx ! x ! x ! y ! z
lx ! x ! y ! x ! z
P lx ! y ! z:
(iii) ) (i) If l satises the condition (iii), then
lx ! y P minflx ! y ! x ! z; lx ! yg
P minflx ! y ! z; lx ! yg:
h

This completes the proof.

A fuzzy lter l of L is said to be Boolean if it satises the following equality

b10 8x 2 Llx _ x l1:
Proposition 3.11. Let l and m be fuzzy filters of L such that l 6 m and
l(1) = m(1). If l is Boolean, then so is m.
Proof. Straightforward.

Proposition 3.12. Every Boolean fuzzy filter l of L satisfies the following

inequality:
8x; y; z 2 Llx ! z P minflx ! z ! y; ly ! zg:
Proof. Using (a5), we have
y ! z 6 z ! y ! z ! z 6 x ! z ! y ! x ! z ! z:
It follows from (b7) that
ly ! z 6 lx ! z ! y ! x ! z ! z
so from (b9) that
lx ! z ! z
P minflx ! z ! y; lx ! z ! y ! x ! z ! zg
P minflx ! z ! y; ly ! zg:
Since
z _ z z ! z ! z ^ z ! z ! z 6 z ! z ! z;
we have l((z* ! z) ! z) P l(z*_z) = l(1). Since
x ! z ! z 6 z ! z ! z ! x ! z;

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Y.B. Jun et al. / Information Sciences 175 (2005) 120138

it follows from (b7) that

lx ! z ! z 6 lz ! z ! z ! x ! z:
Thus
lx ! z P minflz ! z ! z; lz ! z ! z ! x ! zg
P minfl1; lx ! z ! zg
lx ! z ! z
P minflx ! z ! y; ly ! zg:
This completes the proof.

Proposition 3.13. If a fuzzy filter l of L satisfies the following inequality

8x; y 2 Llx P lx ! y ! x;

then it is Boolean.
Proof. Using (a2), (a4) and (a5), we have


1 x ! x ! x ! x 6 x ! x ! x ! x
6 x ! x ! x ! x ! x ! x


x ! x ! x ! x ! x ! x
x ! x ! x ! 0 ! x ! x ! x:
It follows from (b7), (b8) and (5) that
lx ! x ! x P lx ! x ! x ! 0 ! x ! x ! x l1:
Using (a7) and (a9), since
x ! x ! x 6 x ! x ! x _ x ! x ! x
x ! x ! x _ x
1 ^ x ! x ! x _ x
x ! x ^ x ! x ! x _ x
x _ x ! x ! x _ x ;
we get l(1) = l((x* ! x) ! x) 6 l(((x_x*) ! x) ! (x_x*)) 6 l(x_x*), and so
l(x_x*) = l(1). Therefore l is Boolean. h
Proposition 3.14. Let l be a fuzzy filter of L that satisfies the condition (4).
Then l satisfies the condition (5).

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129

Proof. Since (x ! y) ! x 6 x* ! x and l is order-preserving, it follows that

lx l1 ! x
P minfl1 ! x ! x ; lx ! xg
P minfl1; lx ! y ! xg
lx ! y ! x:
Hence l satises the condition (5). h
Combining Propositions 3.12, 3.13 and 3.14, we have a characterization of a
Boolean fuzzy lter.
Theorem 3.15. Let l be a fuzzy filter of L. Then the following assertions are
equivalent:
(i) l is Boolean.
(ii) ("x, y, z 2 L) (l(x ! z) P min{l(x ! (z* ! y)), l(y ! z)}).
(iii) ("x, y 2 L) (l(x) P l((x ! y) ! x)).
Proposition 3.16. If a fuzzy filter l of L satisfies (5), then it satisfies the
following inequality
8x; y; z 2 Llx ! z P minflx ! y ! z; lx ! yg:

Proof. Since x ! (y ! z) = y ! (x ! z) 6 (x ! y) ! (x ! (x ! z)), it follows

from (b7) that
lx ! y ! z 6 lx ! y ! x ! x ! z
so from (b9) that
lx ! x ! z P minflx ! y; lx ! y ! x ! x ! zg
P minflx ! y; lx ! y ! zg:
Since
x ! x ! z 6 x ! x ! z ! z ! z x ! z ! z ! x ! z;
we have
lx ! z P lx ! z ! z ! x ! z
P lx ! x ! z
P minflx ! y; lx ! y ! zg
by using (b7) and (4). This completes the proof.

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Y.B. Jun et al. / Information Sciences 175 (2005) 120138

Proposition 3.17. Every Boolean fuzzy filter l of L satisfies the following

inequality.
8x; y; z 2 Llx ! z P minflx ! y ! z; lx ! yg:
Proof. Since
x ! (y ! z) = y ! (x ! z) 6 (x ! y) ! (x ! (x ! z))
and
x ! (x ! z) 6 x ! (((x ! z) ! z) ! z) = ((x ! z) ! z) ! (x ! z), it follows
from (b7), (b9) and Theorem 3.15 (iii) that
lx ! z P lx ! z ! z ! x ! z
P lx ! x ! z
P minflx ! y; lx ! y ! x ! x ! zg
P minflx ! y; lx ! y ! zg:
This completes the proof.

Denition 3.18. A fuzzy set l in L is called a MV-fuzzy lter of L if it is a fuzzy

lter of L that satises the following inequality.
b11 8x; y 2 Llx ! y 6 ly ! x ! x ! y:
Theorem 3.19. In a MV-algebra, every fuzzy filter is a MV-fuzzy filter.
Proof. Let l be a fuzzy lter of a MV-algebra L. Since
x ! y 6 x ! y ! y ! y y ! x ! x ! y;
we have l(x ! y) 6 l(((y ! x) ! x) ! y), and so l is a MV-fuzzy lter
of L. h
Theorem 3.20. Every Boolean fuzzy filter is a MV-fuzzy filter.
Proof. Let l be a Boolean fuzzy lter of L. Since y 6 ((y ! x) ! x) ! y, we
have
y ! x ! x ! y ! x 6 y ! x

by (a6). Using (a4), (a5), (a6) and (7), we get

x ! y 6 y ! x ! x ! y ! x ! y y ! x ! y ! x ! x ! y
6 y ! x ! x ! y ! x ! y ! x ! x ! y

and so
ly ! x ! x ! y P ly ! x ! x ! y ! x
! y ! x ! x ! y P lx ! y
by Theorem 3.15 (iii) and (b7). Therefore l is a MV-fuzzy lter of L.

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131

Lemma 3.21. Suppose that L satisfies the following assertions.

a ! b ! x 1;

an !    ! a1 ! a    1;

bm !    ! b1 ! b    1:

10

Then bm ! (   ! (b1 ! (an ! (   ! (a1 ! a)  )))  ) = 1.

Proof. The condition (8) implies a 6 b ! x. Using (a6) and (9), we know that
1 an !    ! a1 ! a    6 an !    ! a1 ! b ! x   ;
and so
1 an !    ! a1 ! b ! x    b ! an !    ! a1 ! x   ;
that is, b 6 (an ! (   ! (a1 ! x)   ). It follows from (a6) and (10) that
1 bm !    ! b1 ! b    6 bm !    ! b1 ! an !    !
a1 ! x      
so that bm ! (   ! (b1 ! (an ! (   ! (a1 ! x)  )))  ) = 1. This completes
the proof. h
Note that 1L is always a fuzzy lter of L containing any fuzzy set in L, and
the intersection of any family of fuzzy lters of L is also a fuzzy lter of L.
Hence we can dene a fuzzy lter generated by a fuzzy set as follows. Let c
be a fuzzy set in L. A fuzzy lter l of L is said to be generated by c, denoted
by hci, if it satises:
c 6 l,
(8m 2 FL) (c 6 m ) l 6 m)
where FL is the set of all fuzzy lters of L.
For every fuzzy sets l and m in L, we have
l 2 FL ) hli l.
l 6 m)hli 6 hmi.

Theorem 3.22. For a fuzzy set l in L, if we define a fuzzy set m in L by





 an !    ! a1 ! x    1;

mx : sup minfla1 ; . . . ; lan g
a1 ; . . . ; an 2 L
then m = hli.

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Proof. Let x, a, b 2 L be such that a 6 b ! x. For every e > 0, we can take

a1, . . . , an, b1, . . . , bm 2 L such that
an !    ! a1 ! a    1;
bm !    ! b1 ! b    1;
ma  e < minfla1 ; . . . ; lan g;
mb  e < minflb1 ; . . . ; lbm g:
Using Lemma 3.21, we have
bm !    ! b1 ! an !    ! a1 ! a       1;
and so
mx P minfla1 ; . . . ; lan ; lb1 ; . . . ; lbm g
minfminfla1 ; . . . ; lan g; minflb1 ; . . . ; lbm gg
> minfma  e; mb  eg
minfma; mbg  e:
Since e is arbitrary, it follows that m(x) P min{m(a), m(b)}. Hence m is a fuzzy lter of L by Theorem 3.4. Since x ! x = 1 for all x 2 L, we have l(x) 6 m(x),
i.e., l 6 m. Let c be a fuzzy lter of L such that l 6 c. Then

(
)
 an !    ! a1 ! x    1;

mx sup minfla1 ; . . . ; lan g
 a1 ; . . . ; an 2 L

(
)
 an !    ! a1 ! x    1;

6 sup minfca1 ; . . . ; can g
 a1 ; . . . ; an 2 L
6 supfcxg by Corollary 3.5
cx
for all x 2 L, that is, m 6 c. Hence m = hli. h
For any li 2 FL, where i 2 J and J is any index set, we dene
fli ji 2 J g hsupfli ji 2 J gi:

Theorem 3.23. For any l; m 2 FL and x 2 L, we have

fl; mgx : supffminfla; mbg : a ! b ! x 1g
[fla : a ! x 1g [ fmb : b ! x 1gg:

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133

Proof. Using Theorem 3.22, we know that

fl; mgx supfminfsupfla1 ; ma1 g; . . . ; supflan ; man g:
an !    ! a1 ! x    1; a1 ; . . . ; an 2 Lg
Let e > 0 be arbitrary and suppose that there exist a1, . . . , an, b1, . . . , bm 2 L such
that
bm !    ! b1 ! an !    ! a1 ! x       1;
fl; mgx < e minfsupfla1 ; ma1 g; . . . ; supflan ; man g;
supflb1 ; mb1 g; . . . ; supflbm ; mbm gg;
lai P mai ;

lbj 6 mbj ;

i 1; . . . ; n; j 1; . . . ; m:

11
12
13

Then
fl; mgx < e minfla1 ; . . . ; lan ; mb1 ; . . . ; mbm g:
If we take b = an ! (   ! (a1 ! x)   ) and a = b ! x, then
bm !    ! b1 ! b    1;
an !    ! a1 ! a    1;
b ! a ! x 1:
It follows from Corollary 3.5 that
mb P minfmb1 ; . . . ; mbm g

and

la P minfla1 ; . . . ; lan g

so that ({l, m})(x) < e + min{l(a), m(b)}. Now assume that there exist
a1, . . . , an 2 L such that
an !    ! a1 ! x    1;
fl; mgx < e minfsupfla1 ; ma1 g; . . . ; supflan ; man gg;
lai P mai ; i 1; . . . ; n:
Then
fl; mgx < e minfla1 ; . . . ; lan g:
Since l(x) P min{l(a1), . . . , l(an)} by Corollary 3.5, we have
fl; mgx < e lx:
Finally suppose that there exist b1, . . . , bm 2 L such that
bm ! . . . ! b1 ! x . . . 1;

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fl; mgx < e minfsupflb1 ; mb1 g; . . . ; supflbm ; mbm gg;

lbi 6 mbi ; i 1; . . . ; m:
Then
fl; mgx < e minfmb1 ; . . . ; mbm g 6 e mx:
Summarizing the above results induces
fl; mgx 6 supffminfla; mbg : a ! b ! x 1g [ fla : a ! x
1g [ fmb : b ! x 1gg:
Next since
minfla; mbg 6 minfsupfla; mag; supflb; mbgg;
we have
supfminfla; mbg : a ! b ! x 1g
6 supfminfsupfla1 ; ma1 g; . . . ; supflan ; man gg
: an !    ! a1 ! x    1g:
Similarly we get
supfla : a ! x 1g
6 supfminfsupfla1 ; ma1 g; . . . ; supflan ; man gg : an
!    ! a1 ! x    1g
and
supfmb : b ! x 1g
6 supfminfsupfla1 ; ma1 g; . . . ;

supflan ; man gg : an

! . . . ! a1 ! x . . . 1g:
Therefore
supffminfla;mbg : a ! b ! x 1g [ fla : a ! x 1g [ fmb : b
! x 1gg
6 supfminfsupfla1 ;ma1 g;...;supflan ;man gg
: an !  ! a1 ! x 1g fl;mgx:
This completes the proof.

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135

Theorem 3.24. For a fixed element a 2 L, let la be a fuzzy set in L defined by

t if a 6 x;
la x :
s otherwise;
where t > s in [0, 1]. Then la is a fuzzy filter of L if and only if it satisfies the
following inequality.
8x; y 2 La 6 y ! x; a 6 y ) a 6 x:

14

Proof. Assume that la is a lter of L and let x, y 2 L be such that a 6 y ! x

and a 6 y. Then la(y ! x) = t = la(y), and thus
la x P minfla y ! x; la yg t
which implies that la(x) = t, that is, a 6 x. Conversely, suppose that (14) is
valid. Note that la[s] = L and la[t] = {x 2 Lja 6 x}. Obviously 1 2 la[t]. Let
x, y 2 L be such that x 2 la[t] and x ! y 2 la[t]. Then a 6 x and a 6 x ! y,
which imply from the hypothesis that a 6 y, that is, y 2 la[t]. Hence la[t] is a
lter of L. It follows from Lemma 3.7 that la is a fuzzy lter of L. h
Theorem 3.25. For a fuzzy set l in L, let lsup be a fuzzy set in L defined by
lsup x : supft 2 0; 1jx 2 hltig
for all x 2 L. Then lsup is the least fuzzy filter of L that contains l, where hl[t]i
means the least filter of L containing l[t].
Proof. For any s 2 Im(lsup), let sn s  1n for some n 2 N. Let x 2 lsup[s].
Then lsup(x) P s, which implies that
supft 2 0; 1jx 2 hltig P s > s 

1
sn ; 8n 2 N:
n

Hence there exists r 2 {t 2 [0, 1]jx 2 hl[t]i} such that r > sn. Thus
T l[r]  l[sn],
and so x 2 hl[r]i  hl[sn]i
for
all
n
2
N.
Consequently
x
2
n2N hlsn i. On
T
the other hand, if x 2 n2N hlsn i, then sn 2 {t 2 [0, 1]jx 2 hl[t]i} for any
n 2 N. Therefore
s

1
sn 6 supft 2 0; 1jx 2 hltig lsup x; 8n 2 N:
n

Since n is
T arbitrary, it follows that s < lsup(x) so that x 2 lsup[s]. Hence
lsup s n2N hlsn i, which is a lter of L. Therefore we conclude that lsup
is a fuzzy lter of L by Lemma 3.7. We now prove that lsup contains l. For
any x 2 L, let s 2 {t 2 [0, 1]jx 2 l[t]}. Then x 2 l[s] and thus x 2 hl[s]i. Therefore s 2 {t 2 [0, 1]jx 2 hl[t]i}, which implies that
ft 2 0; 1jx 2 ltg  ft 2 0; 1jx 2 hltig:

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It follows that
lx supft 2 0; 1jx 2 ltg
6 supft 2 0; 1jx 2 hltig
lsup x;
which shows that lsup contains l. Finally let m be a fuzzy lter of L containing
l. Let x 2 L. If lsup(x) =T
0, then clearly lsup(x) 6 m(x). Assume that lsup(x) =
s 5 0. Then x 2 lsup s n2N hlsn i, and so x 2 hl[sn]i for all n 2 N. It follows
that mx P lx P sn s  1n for every n 2 N so that m(x) P s = lsup(x) since n
is arbitrary. This shows that lsup  m. This completes the proof. h
Let l be a fuzzy lter of L and a 2 [0, 1]. Consider a relation on L as follows.
la : fx; yjlx ! y > a; ly ! x > ag:
Lemma 3.26. Let l be a fuzzy filter of L and a 2 [0, 1]. If la 5 ;, then l(1) > a.
Proof. If la 5 ;, then l(x ! y) > a for some (x, y) 2 L L. It follows from
(b8) that l(1) P l(x ! y) > a. This completes the proof. h
Proposition 3.27. Let l be a fuzzy filter of L and a 2 [0, 1). Then either la = ;,
or la is an equivalence relation on L.
Proof. Assume that la 5 ;. Since l(x ! x) = l(1) > a for all x 2 L, we have
(x, x) 2 la, that is, la is reexive. Obviously, la is symmetric. Let x, y, z 2 L be
such that (x, y) 2 la and (y, z) 2 la. Then l(x ! y) > a, l(y ! x) > a,
l(y ! z) > a and l(z ! y) > a. Since x ! y 6 (y ! z) ! (x ! z), it follows
from (b7) that l((y ! z) ! (x ! z)) P l(x ! y) > a so from (b9) that
lx ! z P minfly ! z; ly ! z ! x ! zg > a:
Similarly we get l(z ! x) > a, and so (x, z) 2 la. Therefore la is transitive.

Proposition 3.28. Let l be a fuzzy filter of L and a 2 [0, 1) be such that la 5 ;.

Then
(i) ("x, y, z 2 L) ((x, y) 2 la )(x ! z, y ! z) 2 la,(z ! x, z ! y) 2 la).
(ii) ("x, y, a, b 2 L) ((x, y) 2 la,(a, b) 2 la ) (x ! a, y ! b) 2 la).
Proof. (i) Let x, y, z 2 L be such that (x, y) 2 la. Since y ! x 6 (x ! z) !
(y ! z), it follows from (b7) that l((x ! z) ! (y ! z)) P l(y ! x) > a.

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137

Similarly we get l((y ! z) ! (x ! z)) > a. Hence (x ! z, y ! z) 2 la. Since

x ! y 6 (z ! x) ! (z ! y), (b7) implies that
a < lx ! y 6 lz ! x ! z ! y:
Similarly we have l((z ! y) ! (z ! x)) > a. Therefore (z ! x, z ! y) 2 la.
(ii) follows from (i) and the transitivity of la. h
Proposition 3.29. Let l be a fuzzy filter of L and a 2 [0, 1). If l(1) > a, then la
is a congruence relation on L.
Proof. Assume that l(1) > a for a 2 [0,1). Then l(x ! x) = l(1) > a for all
x 2 L, and so (x, x) 2 la. Hence la 5 ;, which implies from Propositions 3.27
and 3.28 that la is a congruence relation on L. h
Corollary 3.30. Let l be a fuzzy filter of L and a 2 [0, 1). Then either la = 0, or
la is a congruence relation on L.
We call la a congruence relation on L induced by l. Let l be a fuzzy lter of
L and let CR(l) denote the set of all congruence relations on L induced by l,
that is,
CRl : fla ja 2 0; 1g:
Then CR(l) is a poset under the set inclusion . Denote by (CR(l), _, ^) the
lattice induced by the partial order .
The following proposition is straightforward.
Proposition 3.31. For every fuzzy filter l of L, we have the following assertions.
("a, b 2 [0, l(1)]) (a P b ) la  lb).
(CR(l), _, ^) is a chain.
("a, b 2 [0, l(1)]) (la _ lb = lmin{a, b}, la ^ lb = lmax{a, b}).
If l(x) 5 0 for all x 2 L, then la = L L for every a 2 [0, 1] with a <
inf{l(x) jx 2 L}.
(v) If l(x) 5 1 for all x 2 L, then lb = ; for every b 2 [0, 1] with b P
sup{l(x)jx 2 L}.

(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)

Proposition 3.32. Let l be a fuzzy filter of L and C  [0, l(1)]. Then linf(C) =
sup{laja 2 C} and lsup(C) = inf{lbjb 2 C}.
Proof. Since infC 6 a for any a 2 C, we have la  linf(C) for all a 2 C. Hence
linf(C) is an upper bound of {laja 2 C}. Let c 2 [0, l(1)] be such that lc  linf(C).
Then there exists (x, y) 2 L L such that (x, y) 2 linf(C)nlc, and so

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l(x ! y) > inf(C) and l(y ! x) > inf(C), but l(x ! y) 6 c or l(y ! x) 6 c. It
follows that there exists d 2 C such that
infC 6 d < minflx ! y; ly ! xg
so that (x, y) 2 ld. Since (x, y) 62 lc, it follows that lc  ld. This shows that lc is
not an upper bound of {laja 2 C}. Hence sup{laja 2 C} = linf(C). Similarly we
can prove that the equality lsup(C) = inf{lbjb 2 C}. This completes the
proof. h
Corollary 3.33. (CR(l), _, ^) is a completely distributive lattice.

4. Conclusions
We gave characterizations of fuzzy lters, and investigated further properties of fuzzy lters in MTL-algebras. We considered the fuzzication of Boolean lters and MV-lters, and studied related properties. We provided a
condition for a fuzzy lter to be Boolean. We discussed a method to generate
a fuzzy lter by a fuzzy set. Given a fuzzy lter, we stated a congruence relation
and showed that the set of all congruence relations induced by a fuzzy lter is a
completely distributive lattice.
Future research will focus on constructing a quotient MTL-algebra by using
a fuzzy lter, on studying prime fuzzy lter, on establishing a fuzzy prime
spectrum of a MTL-algebra, and on nding intuitionistic and/or intervalvalued
fuzzy structures of a (prime) lter in MTL-algebras.

Acknowledgments
The rst author, Y. B. Jun, was supported by Korea Research Foundation
Grant (KRF-2003-005-C00013). The authors are highly grateful to referees for
their valuable comments and suggestions for improving the paper.

References
[1] F. Esteva, L. Godo, Monoidal t-norm based logic: towards a logic for left-continuous t-norms,
Fuzzy Sets and Systems 124 (2001) 271288.
[2] P. Hajek, Metamathematics of Fuzzy Logic, Kluwer Academic Press, Dordrecht, 1998.
[3] K.H. Kim, Q. Zhang, Y.B. Jun, On fuzzy lters of MTL-algebras, Journal of Fuzzy
Mathematics 10 (4) (2002) 981989.
[5] E. Turunen, BL-algebras of basic fuzzy logic, Mathware and Soft Computing 6 (1999) 4961.
[6] X.H. Zhang, On lters in MTL-algebras, submitted for publication.