Orthocomplemented lattices with a symmetric difference

Abstract.

Modelling an abstract version of the set-theoretic operation of symmetric difference, we first introduce the class of orthocomplemented difference lattices ($\mathcal {ODL}$). We then exhibit examples of ODLs and investigate their basic properties finding, for instance, that any ODL induces an orthomodular lattice (OML) but not all OMLs can be converted to ODLs. We then analyse an appropriate version of ideals and valuations in ODLs and show that the set-representable ODLs form a variety. We finally investigate the question of constructing ODLs from Boolean algebras and obtain, as a by-product, examples of ODLs that are not set-representable but that “live” on set-representable OMLs.