In mathematics, a non-empty collection of sets is called a -ring (pronounced "") if it is closed under union, relative complementation, and countable intersection. The name "delta-ring" originates from the German word for intersection, "Durchschnitt", which is meant to highlight the ring's closure under countable intersection, in contrast to a -ring which is closed under countable unions.
A family of sets is called a -ring if it has all of the following properties:
If only the first two properties are satisfied, then is a ring of sets but not a -ring. Every -ring is a -ring, but not every -ring is a -ring.
-rings can be used instead of ÃÂ-algebras in the development of measure theory if one does not wish to allow sets of infinite measure.
The family is a -ring but not a -ring because is not bounded.