Questions tagged [absolute-galois-group]

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"Understanding" $\mathrm{Gal}(\bar{\mathbb{Q}}/\mathbb{Q})$

I have heard people say that a major goal of number theory is to understand the absolute Galois group of the rational numbers $G = \mathrm{Gal}(\bar{\mathbb{Q}}/\mathbb{Q})$. What do people mean when ...
Jonah Sinick's user avatar
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55 votes
10 answers
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What are dessins d'enfants?

There was an observation that any algebraic curve over Q can be rationally mapped to P^1 without three points and this led ...
Ilya Nikokoshev's user avatar
40 votes
3 answers
3k views

On what kind of objects do the Galois groups act?

I am neither number theorist nor algebraic geometer. I am wondering whether Galois groups of number fields (say the absolute Galois group $Gal(\overline{\mathbb{Q}}/\mathbb{Q})$) act on objects which ...
asv's user avatar
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31 votes
2 answers
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Number theory textbook based on the absolute Galois group?

I've just finished reading Ash and Gross's Fearless Symmetry, a wonderful little pop mathematics book on, among other things, Galois representations. The book made clear a very interesting ...
31 votes
3 answers
1k views

Consequences of Shafarevich conjecture

The Shafarevich conjecture states that the Galois group $\mathrm{Gal}({\overline{\mathbf{Q}}/\mathbf{Q}^{ab}})$ is a free profinite group, where $\mathbf{Q}^{ab}$ is the maximal abelian extension of $\...
Muhammed Ali's user avatar
30 votes
0 answers
2k views

What do dessins tell us about the absolute Galois group?

I have sometimes seen it asserted that one manifestiation of how complicated the absolute Galois group $\mathrm{Gal}(\overline{\mathbf{Q}}/\mathbf{Q})$ is is that one can not "pin down" any single ...
Dan Petersen's user avatar
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23 votes
3 answers
4k views

Subgroups of GL(2,q)

I have been wondering about something for a while now, and the simplest incarnation of it is the following question: Find a finite group that is not a subgroup of any $GL_2(q)$. Here, $GL_2(q)$ is ...
Bertie Wooster's user avatar
22 votes
1 answer
2k views

Are class numbers encoded in the absolute Galois group of ${\mathbb Q}$?

The absolute Galois group $G_{\mathbb Q}=\text{Gal}(\bar{\mathbb Q}/\mathbb Q)$, as a profinite group, encodes a lot of things: the whole lattice of number fields (closed subgroups of finite index), ...
Tim Dokchitser's user avatar
19 votes
3 answers
2k views

Profinite groups as absolute Galois groups

It is a well-known result that all profinite groups arise as the Galois group of some field extension. What profinite groups are the absolute Galois group $\mathrm{Gal}(\overline{K}|K)$ of some ...
Myshkin's user avatar
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17 votes
6 answers
7k views

Element in the absolute Galois group of the rationals

Usually when people talk on the absolute Galois group Gℚ of ℚ they have in mind two elements they can describe explicitly, namely the identity and complex conjugation (clearly, everything ...
Lior Bary-Soroker's user avatar
16 votes
1 answer
1k views

What "should" be the absolute galois group of a field with one element

As far as I know there is many "suggestions" of what should be a "field with one element" $\mathbf{F}_{1}$. My question is the following: How we should think or what should be the "absolute Galois ...
Muhammed Ali's user avatar
15 votes
1 answer
1k views

What can we say about center of rational absolute Galois group?

Well the question is in the title. I asked myself this question while thinking about something in Grothendieck-Teichmüller theory. I guess class field theory gives some insight into this, or I am ...
krolik's user avatar
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2 answers
827 views

Galois group for 0-dimensional motives

It is my understanding that in dimension 0, the theory of motives should just be Galois theory for fields. I am hoping to find a reference or two to help me get some things straightened out. One can ...
Julian Rosen's user avatar
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14 votes
1 answer
1k views

Is the etale fundamental group of Spec(Z)\{p_1,...,p_n} finitely presented?

(of course not, it's usually uncountable; I really mean is it the profinite completion of a finitely presented group). By definition, $\pi_1^{\operatorname{et}}(\operatorname{Spec}(\mathbb Z)\...
John Pardon's user avatar
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13 votes
1 answer
1k views

Classify all the fields with abelian absolute Galois group

I'm wondering if anyone has classified all the fields $K$ such that $Gal(\bar{K}/K)$ is abelian? The only examples I'm aware of are: finite fields, the real numbers $\mathbb{R}$ and $k((T))$ where $k$...
S. Li's user avatar
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13 votes
0 answers
235 views

Dessins d'enfant of Dynkin diagrams?

Dessins d'enfant have a nice particular case of Shabat trees, where we take a tree, bicolor it, and get a polynomial map. A very famous set of trees are the Dynkin diagrams. I wonder what are the ...
Andy's user avatar
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11 votes
1 answer
2k views

Maximal extension almost everywhere unramified and totally split at one place

Fix a finite set of primes $S$ and an additional prime $p$. Let $K$ be the maximal extension of $\mathbb{Q}$ that is unramified outside $S$ and $\infty$ and totally split at $p$. Is the extension $K$ ...
Peter Scholze's user avatar
11 votes
1 answer
819 views

Dessins d'enfants and absolute Galois group

I would like to know what is the recent progress about the group homomorphism $$ \mathrm{Gal}(\overline{\mathbf{Q}}/\mathbf{Q})\rightarrow \mathrm{Out}(\hat{F_{2}})$$ $\mathrm{Gal}(\overline{\mathbf{...
Ofra's user avatar
  • 1,603
11 votes
0 answers
235 views

Grothendieck-Teichmüller conjecture and tropicalization of moduli of curves

Abramovich, Caporaso and Payne (2014) have constructed functorial tropicalization maps from the Berkovich analytification of the moduli spaces of stable curves, $\overline{M}_{g,n}$, to the moduli ...
user138464's user avatar
10 votes
0 answers
220 views

If $H$ is a quotient of $G$, does there exist an $H$-extension of $\mathbb{Q}$ not contained in a $G$-extension?

Let $\phi\colon G\rightarrow H$ be a surjective homomorphism between finite groups. Assume that $\phi$ is not split, in other words there exists no homomorphism $\sigma\colon H\rightarrow G$ such that ...
Jef's user avatar
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9 votes
2 answers
2k views

Langlands program vs Shimura-Taniyama-Weil conjecture

Edward Frenkel said that "we can see Langlands program as a generalization of Shimura-Taniyama-Weil conjecture in the case of elliptic curves" I hope I'm not distorting his phrase, can someone ...
Ofra's user avatar
  • 1,603
9 votes
1 answer
397 views

Weight filtration on certain Galois representations

Let $G$ be the absolute Galois group of a number field $K$. Let $\ell$ be a prime number. There are representations $\mathbb{Z}_\ell(n)$ of $G$ on the group of $\ell$-adic integers given by the ...
Geoffroy Horel's user avatar
9 votes
2 answers
1k views

Is it known if the absolute Galois group is "divisible"?

The definitions of a divisible group that I have seen all seem to assume abelian is an a priori property of the group. My question is as to whether or not it is known that--given a non-torsion element ...
Adam Hughes's user avatar
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8 votes
1 answer
896 views

Absolute Galois group of the field of Puiseux series over $\overline{\mathbb{F}}_p$

Let $K$ be the field of Puiseux series with coefficients in $\overline{\mathbb{F}}_p$ (the algebraic closure of the field with $p$ elements). What is the absolute Galois group of $K$? Thank you to ...
beginner's user avatar
8 votes
1 answer
591 views

Cartographic group and flat stringy connection

There's a literature about dessins d'enfants (including my previous question here), and one amazing thing about them is that absolute Galois group Gal Q acts on ...
Ilya Nikokoshev's user avatar
8 votes
1 answer
462 views

Commutator subgroup of the absolute Galois group - a closed subgroup

Let $K$ be a finite extension of $\mathbb{Q}$. Is it possible that the commutator subgroup of the absolute Galois group of $K$ (considered as an abstract group) is a closed subgroup? This property ...
user avatar
7 votes
2 answers
591 views

Involutions in the absolute Galois group (and the Axiom of Choice)

It is known that the only elementary abelian $2$-groups (finite and nonfinite) in $\mathrm{Gal}(\overline{\mathbb{Q}}/\mathbb{Q})$ are in fact finite and cyclic – that is to say, they are of order $2$....
THC's user avatar
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7 votes
2 answers
2k views

Conjugacy classes in the absolute galois group

We consider $G_{\mathbb Q} = Gal(\mathbb {\bar Q}/\mathbb Q)$. The Frobenius elements corresponding to each prime are well-studied. But these are really not elements; these are only defined as some ...
Regenbogen's user avatar
  • 1,407
7 votes
2 answers
2k views

Frobenius elements in infinite extensions

Let $K$ be a number field, $\bar K$ an algebraic closure and $G$ the associated absolute Galois group. How can I define the Frobenius elements of $G$ or at least their conjugacy class? I know how ...
user81319's user avatar
7 votes
1 answer
818 views

Teichmuller groupoids in Grothendieck's esquisse d'un programme

Grothendieck in his Esquisse d'un programme mentioned without any precise definition and construction that the absolute Galois group $Gal(\overline{\mathbb{Q}}/\mathbb{Q})$ acts on the whole "tower" ...
asv's user avatar
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7 votes
1 answer
557 views

absolute Galois group of the function field of a curve over $\mathbb{F}_p^{alg}$

In their 2008 paper "Torelli theorem for curves over finite fields" Bogomolov, Korotiaev and Tschinkel mention in the beginning of Section 9 that absolute Galois groups of curves over $\mathbb{F}_p^{...
Dima Sustretov's user avatar
7 votes
1 answer
580 views

Interesting (combinatorial) actions of the absolute Galois group $\mathrm{Gal}(\overline{\mathbb{Q}}/\mathbb{Q})$

I have read many times that it is crucial to understand the absolute Galois group $\mathrm{Gal}(\overline{\mathbb{Q}}/\mathbb{Q}) =: L$, in so far that some have stated (was it Richard Taylor ?) that ...
THC's user avatar
  • 4,313
7 votes
1 answer
744 views

Is co-restriction in Galois cohomology in fact the norm map via Kummer isomorphism?

Let $\mathrm{F}$ be a field that contains a root of unity of order $p$, where $p$ is a prime number. Fix an element $a$ such that $a \in \mathrm{F}$ and $\sqrt[p]{a} \notin \mathrm{F}$. Consider the ...
Guy's user avatar
  • 103
7 votes
1 answer
4k views

Unramified extension of number fields

Any finite field extension (in particular Galois extension) of $\mathbb{Q}$ is ramified. Is there an intuitive geometric explanation of this fact? Suppose we have an number field $K$, is any Galois ...
Ofra's user avatar
  • 1,603
7 votes
1 answer
431 views

Recovering the Zariski topology from the Zariski topology over an extension

Suppose $A$ is a $k$-algebra, with $k$ a field, and let $\ell$ be a field extension of $k$. Is there an easy way to see/recover $\mathrm{Spec}(A)$ in/from $\mathrm{Spec}(A \otimes_k \ell)$, using the ...
THC's user avatar
  • 4,313
7 votes
0 answers
263 views

Connections between Borger's absolute geometry and Connes' and Consani's $\Gamma$-spaces

As the idea of an absolute geometry over the field with one element $\mathbb{F}_1$ becomes more clear, two approaches seem to have crystallized, being based on different assumptions and going into ...
Alexander Praehauser's user avatar
7 votes
0 answers
197 views

Reference request: projectivity of the absolute Galois group of $\mathbb{Q}^{\mathrm{ab}}$

$\newcommand{\ab}{\mathrm{ab}}$Let $\mathbb{Q}^{\ab}$ denote the maximal abelian extension of $\mathbb{Q}$. I have heard the absolute Galois group of $\mathbb{Q}^{\ab}$ is projective (e.g. see this ...
projectivityq's user avatar
7 votes
0 answers
249 views

Is this Related to Tannakian Formalism?

I am wondering how I might be able to express the following phenomenon, which is essentially equivalent to Artin's linear independence of characters, in Tannakian formalism. Any help would be much ...
Ronald J. Zallman's user avatar
6 votes
0 answers
771 views

field automorphism action on $Ext^1(\mathbb{C}^*,\mathbb{Z})$ or $Ext^1(\bar{\mathbb Q}^\star,\mathbb{Z})$

I am interested in the action of field automorphism group $Aut(\mathbb{C}/\mathbb{Q})$ on $Ext^1(\mathbb{C}^{\star},\mathbb{Z})$ or $Ext^1(\mathbb{\bar Q}^*,\mathbb{Z})$, and, more generally, on $Ext^...
mmm 's user avatar
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5 votes
2 answers
1k views

Absolute Galois group, number theory and the Axiom of Choice

Richard Taylor once explained his research (in number theory) in a very simple way: understanding the absolute Galois group $\mathrm{Gal}(\overline{\mathbb{Q}}/\mathbb{Q})$. It is known that in ...
THC's user avatar
  • 4,313
5 votes
2 answers
1k views

non-continuous inverse Galois problem

Let $G=Gal(\bar{\mathbf{Q}}/\mathbf{Q})$ be the absolute Galois group over $\mathbf{Q}$. Q1: Is it possible to find a (necessarily non-closed) normal subgroup $K\leq G$ such that $G/K$ is free of ...
Hugo Chapdelaine's user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
241 views

Relation between $G_{\mathbb{Q}_p}$ for different primes

Let $G_{\mathbb{Q}_p}$ denote the absolute Galois group of the $p$-adic field $\mathbb{Q}_{p}$. Also, their structure as abstract groups is completely known. It is well known that this group embeds ...
kindasorta's user avatar
  • 1,373
5 votes
0 answers
222 views

Is the group $\mathrm{Gal}(\mathbb{C}/\overline{\mathbb{Q}})$ known?

The automorphism group of the complex numbers $\mathbb{C}$ and the Galois group $\mathrm{Gal}(\overline{\mathbb{Q}}/\mathbb{Q})$ are amongst the most mysterious and worst understood objects in Galois ...
THC's user avatar
  • 4,313
4 votes
1 answer
231 views

Shafarevich's conjecture on Galois groups over fields ramified at finitely many places

Let $K$ be a number field i.e. a finite extension of $\mathbb{Q}$, $\overline{K}$ a fixed separable closure of $K$, and $G_K:=\mathrm{Gal}(\overline{K}/K)$ the absolute Galois group of $K$. Let $S$ be ...
Nicolas Banks's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
149 views

Galois action on ultrapowers

Let $K$ be a char $0$ field with algebraic closure $\bar K$ and absolute Galois group $G$. Let $\mathcal U$ be an ultrafilter on $\mathbb N$ and $F=\bar K^\mathbb N/\mathcal U$ be the ultrapower of $\...
Cyrille Corpet's user avatar
4 votes
0 answers
790 views

Haar measure on Galois groups

Galois groups are nice compact Hausdorff groups, and therefore possess a bounded Haar measure, unique if we insist that the total volume be $1$. What is the Haar measure on the absolute Galois group ...
Filippo Alberto Edoardo's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
196 views

Galois action on automorphisms of a curve

Let $C$ be a smooth projective curve defined over a local field $K/\mathbb{Q}_p$. Denote by $\text{Aut}(C)$ the geometric automorphism group of $C$, which consist of isomorphisms of $C\times_{\text{...
kindasorta's user avatar
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3 votes
1 answer
223 views

induced isomorphism in continuous cohomology

Suppose that we have a morphism between profinite groups $f: G_{1}\rightarrow G_{2}$ such that $f^{\ast}:H_{cont}^{\ast}(G_{2},A)\rightarrow H_{cont}^{\ast}(G_{1},A) $ is an isomorphism for any finite ...
Muhammed Ali's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
301 views

Fix field of a certain galois group action

Let $E= \mathbb{F}_p(\!(u)\!)$, $E^s$ a separable closure of $E$ and write $G_E= \mathrm{Gal}(E^s/E)$ for the absolute Galois group of $E$. Take a lift of the $u$-adic valuation on $E$ to $E^s$ and ...
Louis's user avatar
  • 189
3 votes
2 answers
1k views

Is the absolute Galois group of the field of Laurent series in positive characteristic finitely generated?

If $K$ is an algebraically closed field of characteristic $p>0$, then $K((t))$, the field of Laurent series with coefficients in $K$, has infinitely many Galois extensions of degree $p$. Indeed, ...
Lior Bary-Soroker's user avatar