The Tits indices over semilocal rings

Abstract

We give a simplified proof of Tits' classification of semisimple algebraic groups that remains valid over semilocal rings. In particular, we provide explicit necessary and sufficient conditions that anisotropic groups of a given type appear as anisotropic kernels of semisimple groups of a given Tits index. We also give a new proof of the existence of all indices of exceptional inner type using the notion of canonical dimension of projective homogeneous varieties.