SATURATION FOR THE BUTTERFLY POSET

Abstract

Given a finite poset $\mathcal P$, we call a family $\mathcal F$ of subsets of $[n]$ $\mathcal P$-saturated if $\mathcal F$ does not contain an induced copy of $\mathcal P$, but adding any other set to $\mathcal F$ creates an induced copy of $\mathcal P$. The induced saturated number of $\mathcal P$, denoted by $\text{sat}^*(n,\mathcal P)$, is the size of the smallest $\mathcal P$-saturated family with ground set $[n]$. In this paper we are mainly interested in the four-point poset called the butterfly. Ferrara, Kay, Kramer, Martin, Reiniger, Smith and Sullivan showed that the saturation number for the butterfly lies between $\log_2{n}$ and $n^2$. We give a linear lower bound of $n+1$. We also prove some other results about the butterfly and the poset $\mathcal N$.