Congruence pairs of principal MS-algebras and perfect extensions

Abstract

Abstract The notion of a congruence pair for principal MS-algebras, simpler than the one given by Beazer for K 2-algebras [6], is introduced. It is proved that the congruences of the principal MS-algebras L correspond to the MS-congruence pairs on simpler substructures L °° and D(L) of L that were associated to L in [4]. An analogy of a well-known Grätzer’s problem [11: Problem 57] formulated for distributive p-algebras, which asks for a characterization of the congruence lattices in terms of the congruence pairs, is presented here for the principal MS-algebras (Problem 1). Unlike a recent solution to such a problem for the principal p-algebras in [2], it is demonstrated here on the class of principal MS-algebras, that a possible solution to the problem, though not very descriptive, can be simple and elegant. As a step to a more descriptive solution of Problem 1, a special case is then considered when a principal MS-algebra L is a perfect extension of its greatest Stone subalgebra L S . It is shown that this is exactly when de Morgan subalgebra L °° of L is a perfect extension of the Boolean algebra B(L). Two examples illustrating when this special case happens and when it does not are presented.