Journal of Lie Theory

The space of closed subgroups of a locally compact topological group is endowed with a natural topology, called the Chabauty topology. Let X be a symmetric space of noncompact type, and G be its group of isometries. The space X identifies with the subspace of maximal compact subgroups of G : taking the closure gives rise to the Chabauty compactification of the symmetric space X. Using simpler arguments than those presented by Y. Guivarc'h, L. Ji and J. C. Taylor [Compactifications of symmetric spaces, Progr. Math. 156 (1998)] we describe the subgroups that appear in the boundary of the compactification, and classify the maximal distal and maximal amenable subgroups of G. We also provide a straightforward identification between the Chabauty compactification and the polyhedral compactification.