An adjacency criterion for the prime graph of a finite simple group

Algebra and Logic, v. 44 (2005), N 6, 381-406 In the paper we give an exhaustive arithmetic criterion of adjacency in prime graph $GK(G)$ for every finite nonabelian simple group $G$. By using this criterion for all finite simple groups an independence set with the maximal number of vertices, an independence set containing 2 with the maximal number of vertices, and the orders of these independence sets are given. We assemble this information in the tables at the end of the paper. Several applications of obtained results for various problems of finite group theory are considered.