Non-left-orderability of lattices in higher-rank semisimple Lie groups (after Deroin and Hurtado)

Abstract

Let $G$ be a connected, semisimple, real Lie group with finite centre, with real rank at least two. B.Deroin and S.Hurtado recently proved the 30-year-old conjecture that no irreducible lattice in $G$ has a left-invariant total order. (Equivalently, they proved that no such lattice has a nontrivial, orientation-preserving action on the real line.) We will explain many of the main ideas of the proof, by using them to prove the analogous result for lattices in $p$-adic semisimple groups. The $p$-adic case is easier, because some of the technical issues do not arise.