Cross-sections for \(p\)-adically closed fields (Q1921937)

If \(F\) is a field with valuation \(v: F^\times \twoheadrightarrow G\), a cross-section for \((F,v)\) is a group homomorphism \(\pi:G\to F^\times\) such that \(v\circ\pi =\text{id}\). The field \(\mathbb{Q}_p\) of \(p\)-adic numbers admits \(\pi(n) =p^n\) as a cross-section for its canonical valuation \(v_p\). A valued field \((F,v)\) is called \(p\)-valued if \(v(p)\) is minimal positive in the value group \(v(F^\times)\) and the residue field has exactly \(p\) elements. \((F,v)\) is called \(p\)-adically closed if it does not allow any proper algebraic valued extension that is again \(p\)-valued. The author studies the question: which \(p\)-adically closed valued fields \((F,v)\) admit a cross-section? Among others he proves that any \(p\)-adically closed field \((F,v)\) extending \((\mathbb{Q}_p, v_p)\) admits a cross-section. If \((\mathbb{Q}_p, v_p)\) does not embed into \((F,v)\), then the author shows that \((F,v)\) admits a \(p\)-adically closed extension without any cross-section.