In mathematics, in the theory of discrete groups, superrigidity is a concept designed to show how a linear representation ÃÂ of a discrete group ÃÂ inside an algebraic group G can, under some circumstances, be as good as a representation of G itself. That this phenomenon happens for certain broadly defined classes of lattices inside semisimple groups was the discovery of Grigory Margulis, who proved some fundamental results in this direction.
There is more than one result that goes by the name of Margulis superrigidity. One simplified statement is this: take G to be a simply connected semisimple real algebraic group in GL<sub>n</sub>, such that the Lie group of its real points has real rank at least 2 and no compact factors. Suppose ÃÂ is an irreducible lattice in G. For a local field F and ÃÂ a linear representation of the lattice ÃÂ of the Lie group, into GL<sub>n</sub> (F), assume the image ÃÂ(ÃÂ) is not relatively compact (in the topology arising from F) and such that its closure in the Zariski topology is connected. Then F is the real numbers or the complex numbers, and there is a rational representation of G giving rise to ÃÂ by restriction.