The question is already in the title. It is known that any subgroup of a free group is free. My question is:
Is a closed subgroup of a free profinite group is again a free profinite group ?
The question is already in the title. It is known that any subgroup of a free group is free. My question is:
Is a closed subgroup of a free profinite group is again a free profinite group ?
No. The free profinite group $\widehat{\mathbb{Z}}$ on one generator is the direct product of the groups $\mathbb{Z}_p$, $p$ prime. Therefore each $\mathbb{Z}_p$ is a closed subgroup of $\widehat{\mathbb{Z}}$, but is not free as a profinite group.