[Tex/LaTex] Relation symbol used by Conway in On Numbers and Games

symbols

I'm trying to find a nice way to typeset a relation used in combinatorial game theory. It's supposed to be a combination of < and || symbols (with the first vertical line connected to the <), though preferably with similar heights.

On numbers and games

(Google Book search)

I've had some luck with joining the existing symbols \lhd and \shortmid, but I can never get the spacing correct; while in some cases it looks perfect, in others there is too much or too little spacing between.

Also, in normal text, where the symbol is mentioned, spaces – essential in math mode since this is a relation, but messy in text – will always appear; how can I get around this?

Best Answer

Edit: Following TH's advice, this would be a better command to use:

\newcommand{\trel}{\mathrel{\mathsurround=0pt \mbox{\raisebox{1.2pt}{\tiny \textbf{\textbar }}$\rhd$}}}

(I decided to explicitly say \mathsurround=0pt rather than just calling \m@th because that way, if Mike wants to paste this into the top of his document, he won't have to call \makeatletter)

Original: I don't know what built-in symbols would correspond to the one you're describing, but if you're just trying to get something done you could use this:

\newcommand{\trel}{\mbox{\raisebox{1.2pt}{\tiny \bf \textbar }$\rhd$}}

(and then use \trel every time you want to use this relation).

It's a huge hack, but, like I said, it might be enough to get you by.

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