Bounded generation and lattices that cannot act on the line

Abstract

Let D be an irreducible lattice in a connected, semisimple Lie group G with finite center. Assume that the real rank of G is at least two, that G/D is not compact, and that G has more than one noncompact simple factor. We show that D has no orientation-preserving actions on the real line. (In algebraic terms, this means that D is not right orderable.) Under the additional assumption that no simple factor of G is isogenous to SL(2,R), applying a theorem of E.Ghys yields the conclusion that any orientation-preserving action of D on the circle must factor through a finite, abelian quotient of D. The proof relies on the fact, proved by D.Carter, G.Keller, and E.Paige, that SL(2,A) is boundedly generated by unipotents whenever A is a ring of integers with infinitely many units. The assumption that G has more than one noncompact simple factor can be eliminated if all noncocompact lattices in SL(3,R) and SL(3,C) are virtually boundedly generated by unipotents.