Examines the internal structure of the finite simple groups of Lie type, the finite alternating groups, and 26 sporadic finite simple groups, as well as their analogues. Emphasis is on the structure of local subgroups and their relationships with one another, rather than development of an abstract theory of simple groups. A foundation is laid for the development of specific properties of K-groups to be used in the inductive proof of the classification theorem. Highlights include statements and proofs of the Breol-Tits and Curtis-Tits theorems, and material on centralizers of semisimple involutions in groups of Lie type. For graduate students and research mathematicians. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

This book is the tenth in a series of volumes whose aim is to provide a complete proof of the classification theorem for the finite simple groups based on a fairly short and clearly enumerated set of background results. Specifically, this book completes our identification of the simple groups of bicharacteristic type begun in the ninth volume of the series (see SURV/40.9). This is a fascinating set of simple groups which have properties in common with matrix groups (or, more generally, groups of Lie type) defined both over fields of characteristic 2 and over fields of characteristic 3. This set includes 11 of the celebrated 26 sporadic simple groups along with several of their large simple subgroups. Together with SURV/40.9, this volume provides the first unified treatment of this class of simple groups.

Provides an outline and modern overview of the classification of the finite simple groups. It primarily covers the 'even case', where the main groups arising are Lie-type (matrix) groups over a field of characteristic 2. The book thus completes a project begun by Daniel Gorenstein's 1983 book, which outlined the classification of groups of 'noncharacteristic 2 type'.

In February 1981, the classification of the finite simple groups (Dl)* was completed,t. * representing one of the most remarkable achievements in the history or mathematics. Involving the combined efforts of several hundred mathematicians from around the world over a period of 30 years, the full proof covered something between 5,000 and 10,000 journal pages, spread over 300 to 500 individual papers. The single result that, more than any other, opened up the field and foreshadowed the vastness of the full classification proof was the celebrated theorem of Walter Feit and John Thompson in 1962, which stated that every finite group of odd order (D2) is solvable (D3)-a statement expressi ble in a single line, yet its proof required a full 255-page issue of the Pacific 10urnal of Mathematics [93]. Soon thereafter, in 1965, came the first new sporadic simple group in over 100 years, the Zvonimir Janko group 1 , to further stimulate the 1 'To make the book as self-contained as possible. we are including definitions of various terms as they occur in the text. However. in order not to disrupt the continuity of the discussion. we have placed them at the end of the Introduction. We denote these definitions by (DI). (D2), (D3). etc.

Thisbookisintendedasanintroductiontoallthe?nitesimplegroups.During themonumentalstruggletoclassifythe?nitesimplegroups(andindeedsince), a huge amount of information about these groups has been accumulated. Conveyingthisinformationtothenextgenerationofstudentsandresearchers, not to mention those who might wish to apply this knowledge, has become a major challenge. With the publication of the two volumes by Aschbacher and Smith [12, 13] in 2004 we can reasonably regard the proof of the Classi?cation Theorem for Finite Simple Groups (usually abbreviated CFSG) as complete. Thus it is timely to attempt an overview of all the (non-abelian) ?nite simple groups in one volume. For expository purposes it is convenient to divide them into four basic types, namely the alternating, classical, exceptional and sporadic groups. The study of alternating groups soon develops into the theory of per- tation groups, which is well served by the classic text of Wielandt [170]and more modern treatments such as the comprehensive introduction by Dixon and Mortimer [53] and more specialised texts such as that of Cameron [19].

The classification of the finite simple groups is one of the major feats of contemporary mathematical research, but its proof has never been completely extricated from the journal literature in which it first appeared. This book serves as an introduction to a series devoted to organizing and simplifying the proof. The purpose of the series is to present as direct and coherent a proof as is possible with existing techniques. This first volume, which sets up the structure for the entire series, begins with largely informal discussions of the relationship between the Classification Theorem and the general structure of finite groups, as well as the general strategy to be followed in the series and a comparison with the original proof. Also listed are background results from the literature that will be used in subsequent volumes. Next, the authors formally present the structure of the proof and the plan for the series of volumes in the form of two grids, giving the main case division of the proof as well as the principal milestones in the analysis of each case. Thumbnail sketches are given of the ten or so principal methods underlying the proof. Much of the book is written in an expository style accessible to nonspecialists.

This book covers the latest achievements of the Theory of Classes of Finite Groups. It introduces some unpublished and fundamental advances in this Theory and provides a new insight into some classic facts in this area. By gathering the research of many authors scattered in hundreds of papers the book contributes to the understanding of the structure of finite groups by adapting and extending the successful techniques of the Theory of Finite Soluble Groups.