Structure Theory

The problem of classifying the finite-dimensional simple Lie algebras over fields of characteristic p > 0 is a long-standing one. Work on this question during the last 35 years has been directed by the Kostrikin–Shafarevich Conjecture of 1966, which states that over an algebraically closed field of characteristic p > 5 a finite-dimensional restricted simple Lie algebra is classical or of Cartan type. This conjecture was proved for p > 7 by Block and Wilson in 1988. The generalization…