The order topology $\tau_o(P)$ (resp. the sequential order topology $\tau_{os}(P)$) on a poset $P$ is the topology that has as its closed sets those that contain the order limits of all their order convergent nets (resp. sequences). For a von Neumann algebra $M$ we consider the following three posets: the self-adjoint part $\saM$, the self-adjoint part of the unit ball $\saM^1$, and the projection lattice $P(M)$. We study the order topology (and the corresponding sequential variant) on these posets, compare the order topology to the other standard locally convex topologies on $M$, and relate the properties of the order topology to the underlying operator-algebraic structure of $M$.
