Galois extensions of Lubin-Tate spectra (Q1004502)

Galois theory for commutative rings has been extended to the context of brave new algebra over the sphere spectrum \(S\) by \textit{J. Rognes} [Mem. Am. Math. Soc.~898 (2008; Zbl 1166.55001)]. See also the authors' earlier work [Trans. Am. Math. Soc. 359, No.~2, 827--857 (2007; Zbl 1111.55009)]. Not many examples of separably closed commutative \(S\)-algebras are known. The most prominent example among them being~\(S\) itself, by Rognes' extension of Minkowski's theorem. This makes it an interesting task to determine the separable closures of the commutative \(S\)-algebras algebraic topologists usually deal with: the relevant examples. In this paper, the authors successfully study the Lubin-Tate spectra \(E_n\) from this point of view. These are commutative \(S\)-algebras such that \(\pi_0E_n\) is the ring of formal functions on a universal formal deformation space of the Honda formal group law of height \(n\) at the prime \(p\) in question, a formal power series ring over the Witt ring of a field with \(p^n\) elements. In this case, a candidate for the separable closure of \(E_n\) is obtained by replacing the finite field by its algebraic closure. This yields a Lubin-Tate spectrum \(E_n^{\mathrm{nr}}\). The main result of the paper under review confirms Rognes' conjecture that \(E_n^{\mathrm{nr}}\) is separably closed for odd primes. While it remains unresolved whether this holds for the even prime as well, the authors are able to rule out the existence of finite connected Galois extensions of \(E_n^{\mathrm{nr}}\) with Galois group a finite group with cyclic quotient. In the final section, it is explained how the results obtained so far can be carried over to the~\(K(n)\)-local categories. This context is particularly relevant here, as~\(E_n\) itself has been interpreted by Rognes, building on work of \textit{E. S. Devinatz} and \textit{M. J. Hopkins} [Topology 43, No.~1, 1--47 (2004; Zbl 1047.55004)], as a \(K(n)\)-local Galois extension of the \(K(n)\)-localisation of the sphere spectrum \(S\), with Galois group the extended Morava stabilizer group.