Menu
Home
People
Places
Arts
History
Plants & Animals
Science
Life & Culture
Technology
Reference.org
Supermodular function
open-in-new
<p>In mathematics, a supermodular function is a function on a <a href="/facts/Lattice_(order)/5ak6ufky">lattice</a> that, informally, has the property of being characterized by "increasing differences." Seen from the point of <a href="/facts/Set_function/Dy46B9EJ">set functions</a>, this can also be viewed as a relationship of "increasing returns", where adding more elements to a subset increases its valuation. In <a href="/facts/Economics/HYctA2Dn">economics</a>, supermodular functions are often used as a formal expression of complementarity in preferences among goods. Supermodular functions are studied and have applications in <a href="/facts/Game_theory/zkEIj1ya">game theory</a>, <a href="/facts/Economics/HYctA2Dn">economics</a>, <a href="/facts/Lattice_(order)/5ak6ufky">lattice theory</a>, <a href="/facts/Combinatorial_optimization/PTcloS79">combinatorial optimization</a>, and <a href="/facts/Machine_learning/e0w0XJTu">machine learning</a>. </p>