On Recognition by Order and Degree Pattern of Finite Simple Groups

Let ${\rm GK}(G)$ be the prime graph associated with a finite group $G$ and $D(G)$ be the degree pattern of $G$. A finite group $G$ is said to be $k$-fold OD-characterizable if there exist exactly $k$ non-isomorphic groups $H$ such that $|H|=|G|$ and $D(H)=D(G)$. A 1-fold OD-characterizable group is simply called OD-characterizable. The purpose of this paper is threefold. First, it provides the reader with a few useful and efficient tools on OD-characterizability of finite groups. Second, it lists a number of such simple groups that have been already investigated. Third, it shows that the simple groups $L_6(3)$ and $U_4(5)$ are OD-characterizable, too.