On superrigidity and arithmeticity of lattices in semisimple groups over local fields of arbitrary characteristic (Q1105708)

The author proves that if \(\Gamma\) is an irreducible lattice in a group G of the form \(\prod^{n}_{i-1}G_ i(k_ i)\), where \(G_ i\) is an absolutely simple group of adjoint type defined and isotropic over a local field \(k_ i\), with \(char(k_ i)\) arbitrary, and if G' is an absolutely simple group of adjoint type defined over a local field k, \(\rho: \Gamma\to G'(k)\) is a homomorphism with image Zariski dense on G' and not relatively compact in \(G'(k)\), then \(\rho\) extends to a continuous homomorphism of G into \(G'(k)\) provided \(\sum^{n}_{i=1}k_ i\)-rank\((G_ i)\geq 2\). As a consequence it is proven that \(\Gamma\) is arithmetic when \(\Gamma\) is finitely generated. These theorems extend the results of \textit{G. A. Margulis} [Invent. Math. 76, 93-120 (1984; Zbl 0551.20028)] to positive characteristics.