On the enumeration of some inequivalent monotone Boolean functions

Abstract

This paper considers inequivalent monotone Boolean functions of an arbitrary number of variables, two monotone Boolean functions are equivalent if one can be obtained from the other by permuting the variables. It focuses on some inequivalent monotone Boolean functions with three and four types of equivalent variables, where the variables are either dominant or dominated. The paper provides closed formulas for their enumeration as a function of the number of variables. The problem we deal with is very versatile since inequivalent monotone Boolean functions are monotonic simple games, structures that are used in many fields such as game theory, neural networks, artificial intelligence, reliability or multiple-criteria decision-making.