Every proper lattice ideal of a Boolean algebra extends to a prime lattice ideal. More generally, an ideal disjoint from a lattice filter extends to a prime ideal still disjoint from that filter. This Boolean case of the Stone prime filter theorem is equivalent to the ultrafilter lemma over Zermelo–Fraenkel set theory and is weaker than the axiom of choice.
The Stone prime filter theorem says that if a lattice filter and a lattice ideal of a distributive lattice are disjoint, then there is a prime filter of a distributive lattice such that
Equivalently, whenever , there is a prime filter containing and omitting .
For a prime filter , first suppose . If and , then and
so . Thus no prime filter above belongs to , and
Conversely, suppose . The lattice filter generated by is disjoint from the principal lattice ideal . Indeed, an intersection would give some with , whence and then , a contradiction. The Stone prime filter theorem therefore extends this filter to a prime filter that omits . Then , so .
We have proved, for every ,
which is the required identity