The Leavitt path algebra of a graph

For any row-finite graph $E$ and any field $K$ we construct the {\its Leavitt path algebra} $L(E)$ having coefficients in $K$. When $K$ is the field of complex numbers, then $L(E)$ is the algebraic analog of the Cuntz Krieger algebra $C^{\ast }(E)$ described in [8]. The matrix rings $M_n(K)$ and the Leavitt algebras L(1,n) appear as algebras of the form $L(E)$ for various graphs $E$. In our main result, we give necessary and sufficient conditions on $E$ which imply that $L(E)$ is simple.