TITLE: Absolute Galois group of the field of Puiseux series over $\overline{\mathbb{F}}_p$
QUESTION [8 upvotes]: 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 anyone who could help!

REPLY [17 votes]: Let $E$ be the field $\overline{\mathbb{F}}_p((X))$. The field of Puiseux series whose exponents have denominators prime to $p$ is a subfield of $E^{sep}$, so the group you're asking about would then be the wild inertia subgroup of $Gal(E^{sep}/E)$. The group $Gal(E^{sep}/E)$ is quite complicated, and it comes up in arithmetic geometry, for example when studying the $\pi_1$ of curves. It also occurs as a closed subgroup of $Gal(\overline{\mathbb{Q}}_p / \mathbb{Q}_p)$ by the theory of the field of norms of Fontaine and Wintenberger. Its representations on $\mathbb{Z}_p$-modules are described by $\varphi$-modules'' (like $(\varphi,\Gamma)$-modules without the $\Gamma$). If you want to include Puiseux series whose exponents have denominators divisible by $p$, then you're looking at the perfection of $E$. The group does not change, as $E^{sep}$ is dense in $E^{alg}$ by a theorem of Ax.