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An order automorphism of an order-dense subset $D$ of the real line extends uniquely by $\tilde{\phi }(x)=\sup \{\phi (d):d\in D,d<x\}$. Order completeness supplies the extension, and the lower cuts in $D$ give uniqueness.

Every nonempty bounded-above subset of a total order has a least upper bound. In the real line this is the supremum property used to extend maps defined on an order-dense subset.

A subset of a total order meeting every nonempty open interval between two distinct points. A countable order-dense subset witnesses separability in the order topology of a dense order.

Write $\mathfrak{c}=2^{{\aleph }_0}$ and enumerate all nonidentity order automorphisms of the real line as $⟨h_{\alpha }:\alpha <\mathfrak{c}⟩$. We construct sets of points to include and exclude, starting with $I_0=\mathbb{Q}$ and $E_0=\varnothing$.

At stage $\alpha$, each of $I_{\alpha },E_{\alpha }$ has cardinality less than $\mathfrak{c}$. Since $h_{\alpha }$ is a nonidentity increasing bijection, its moved points contain a nonempty open interval. Indeed if $h_{\alpha }(u)>u$, points between $u$ and $h_{\alpha }(u)$ are moved; the other direction is similar. There are therefore $\mathfrak{c}$ moved points. Choose one, $x_{\alpha }$, outsideThen put $x_{\alpha }$ into $I$ and $h_{\alpha }(x_{\alpha })$ into $E$. They are different, and the included and excluded sets remain disjoint. Take unions at limit stages. This recursion works even when $\mathfrak{c}$ is singular: before stage $\alpha$, only countably many initial points and at most $|\alpha |$ chosen pairs have been used.

Let $X=\mathbb{Q}\cup \{x_{\alpha }:\alpha <\mathfrak{c}\}$. It is an order-dense subset of cardinality $\mathfrak{c}$. Any nonidentity order automorphism of $X$ extends uniquely to some $h_{\alpha }$ of $\mathbb{R}$, but its value at $x_{\alpha }\in X$ is the excluded point $h_{\alpha }(x_{\alpha })\notin X$, a contradiction. Thus the resulting rigid dense subset of the real line satisfies

Use the order completeness of $\mathbb{R}$ to defineThe set in this supremum is nonempty and bounded above: choose $d_0,d_1\in D$ with $d_0<x<d_1$, using that $D$ is an order-dense subset. For $x\in D$, all its displayed values lie below $\phi (x)$. If $y<\phi (x)$, choose $e\in D$ with $y<e<\phi (x)$; then $d={\phi }^{-1}(e)<x$. Thus the supremum equals $\phi (x)$.

The extension is strictly increasing. If $x<y$, choose $d,e\in D$ with $x<d<e<y$; thenApply the same construction to ${\phi }^{-1}$, obtaining $\psi$. For $d<x$, choose $e\in D$ with $d<e<x$; this gives $\phi (d)<\tilde{\phi }(x)$. For $d>x$, a point of $D$ between $x$ and $d$ similarly gives $\phi (d)>\tilde{\phi }(x)$. HenceTaking inverse images and a supremum shows $\psi (\tilde{\phi }(x))=x$. The symmetric argument gives $\tilde{\phi }(\psi (y))=y$, so the extension is an order automorphism.

For uniqueness, any increasing extension $h$ has the same strict lower cut in $D$ at its value $h(x)$. Two distinct real numbers have different cuts in an order-dense subset, so $h(x)=\tilde{\phi }(x)$. The extension exists and is unique.

A Suslin line is a dense linear order without endpoints that is order-complete, has the countable chain condition for a linear order, and is not separable in its order topology. Thus every disjoint family of nonempty open intervals is countable, but there is no countable order-dense subset. The completeness condition says that every nonempty bounded-above subset has a supremum. These requirements distinguish a Suslin line from the real line, which has the countable order-dense subset $\mathbb{Q}$.

The diamond theorem in the constructible universe gives $L\models ♢$, and $L$ satisfies ZFC. Apply the preceding construction inside $L$ with $S={\omega }_1^L$. It produces a normal splitting Suslin tree.

For completeness, such a tree yields a Suslin line. Order its nodes lexicographically using the two successors at every split, treating a node itself as a position between its two successor subtrees. Each node is thus a cut point between a left and a right subtree. This gives a dense linear order without endpoints. Every nonempty interval contains a whole cone above some node: for comparable endpoints use the successor cone of the descendant endpoint directed toward the other endpoint; for incomparable endpoints use the right-successor cone of the lower endpoint. Disjoint intervals therefore supply pairwise incomparable cone roots, so the order has the countable chain condition for a linear order. A countable collection of nodes has bounded heights; a cone based above that bound contains none of them, so it is not an order-dense subset. Passing to the Dedekind completion using proper cuts, so that no endpoints are added, preserves density, the countable chain condition for a linear order, and nonseparability. For nonseparability, a countable dense set in the completion would give a countable dense set of original nodes by choosing one original node between each distinct pair of its points. This contradicts the preceding height-bound argument. The result is a Suslin line.

Thus the Suslin hypothesis fails in $L$. The constructible universe theorem is a theorem of ZFC, so this is a relative-consistency argument, without an additional assumption that a transitive model exists:

An order-dense subset with no nonidentity order automorphism. A transfinite diagonal construction marks an included point and an excluded image for every nonidentity real-line order automorphism, yielding such a subset of size $2^{{\aleph }_0}$.

A complete dense linear order without endpoints with the countable chain condition for a linear order, but with no countable order-dense subset.