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Limits RegistryThe classification theorem is the result of a collaborative effort by roughly 100 mathematicians across several hundred journal articles from the 1950s through the 1980s, organized largely under Daniel Gorenstein's program. A subtle gap in the classification of quasithin groups was identified and closed by Michael Aschbacher and Stephen Smith in a two-volume, 1,221-page work published in 2004, generally considered the point at which the classification was fully complete. Estimates of the total proof length across all contributing papers commonly run to 10,000-15,000 pages, making it the largest collaborative proof in mathematics.
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The classification theorem is the result of a collaborative effort by roughly 100 mathematicians across several hundred journal articles from the 1950s through the 1980s, organized largely under Daniel Gorenstein's program. A subtle gap in the classification of quasithin groups was identified and closed by Michael Aschbacher and Stephen Smith in a two-volume, 1,221-page work published in 2004, generally considered the point at which the classification was fully complete. Estimates of the total proof length across all contributing papers commonly run to 10,000-15,000 pages, making it the largest collaborative proof in mathematics.
Every finite simple group belongs to one of a small number of known families (cyclic, alternating, groups of Lie type) or is one of 26 'sporadic' exceptions, including the Monster group.
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Permanent ID limitsregistry.com/limits/LR-CLASSIFICATION-FINITE-SIMPLE-GROUPS
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Limits Registry. LR-CLASSIFICATION-FINITE-SIMPLE-GROUPS. Classification of Finite Simple Groups. 2026.