ThmDex – An index of mathematical definitions, results, and conjectures.
Number of binary relations on binary cartesian product
Formulation 0
Let $X$ and $Y$ each be a D17: Finite set such that
(i) $N, M \in \mathbb{N}$ are each a D996: Natural number
(ii) \begin{equation} |X| = N, \quad |Y| = M \end{equation}
(iii) $X \times Y$ is the D191: Binary cartesian set product of $X$ and $Y$
(iv) $\mathcal{B} : = \{ R : R \subseteq X \times Y \}$ is the D5348: Set of binary relations on $X \times Y$
Then \begin{equation} |\mathcal{B}| = 2^{N M} \end{equation}
Proofs
Proof 0
Let $X$ and $Y$ each be a D17: Finite set such that
(i) $N, M \in \mathbb{N}$ are each a D996: Natural number
(ii) \begin{equation} |X| = N, \quad |Y| = M \end{equation}
(iii) $X \times Y$ is the D191: Binary cartesian set product of $X$ and $Y$
(iv) $\mathcal{B} : = \{ R : R \subseteq X \times Y \}$ is the D5348: Set of binary relations on $X \times Y$
This result is a particular case of R4309: Number of N-ary relations on a finite cartesian product. $\square$