Is there such a thing as matrix representations of Boolean algebra?
Give a boolean algebra with finite elements {a,b,c...} and operations $\cap, \neg$, we can regard $\cap$ as matrix multiplication and we're free to define the "complement" of the matrices.
We want the matrix multiplication to preserve the structure of Boolean algebra. I learned that it is impossible for both matrix addition and multiplication to correspond to the boolean $\cap$ and $\cup$.
Is it possible to apply representation theory to find such matrices?
By the way, the axioms of Boolean algebra are:
- $(a + b) + c = a + (b + c)$
- $a + b = b + a$
- $a + a = a$
- $-(-b) = b$
- $b + (-b) = 1$
- $-1 = 0$
- $0 + a = a$
- $a \cdot (b+c) = a \cdot b + a \cdot c$
- $a \cdot b \equiv -(-a + -b)$
where $\cup$ is denoted as + , $\cap$ as $\cdot$, and $\overline{x}$ as $-x$.
Here I try to convert the axioms to multiplicative form and eliminate the additive operations:
- $(ab)c = a(bc)$ --- associativity
- $ab = ba$ --- commutativity
- $aa = a$ --- idempotency
- $-(-a) = a$
- $a(-a) = 0$
- $-1 = 0$
- $0a = 0$
Axiom 3 implies that the matrices are projection matrices.
What else needs to be done?