Higher property T and below-rank phenomena of lattices

The purpose of this paper is twofold. We explore higher property T as an abstract group-theoretic property. In particular, we provide new operator-algebraic characterizations of higher property T. Then we turn to lattices in semisimple Lie groups. We relate higher property T to other cohomological, rigidity and geometric phenomena below the real rank. The second part outlines a conjectural framework that unifies these aspects and reviews recent advances.