Galois module

In mathematics, a Galois module is a G-module, with G being the Galois group of some extension of fields. The term Galois representation is frequently used when the G-module is a vector space over a field or a free module over a ring in representation theory, but can also be used as a synonym for G-module. The study of Galois modules for extensions of local or global fields and their group cohomology is an important tool in number theory. Given a field K, the multiplicative group (Ks)× of a separable closure of K is a Galois module for the absolute Galois group. Its second cohomology group is isomorphic to the Brauer group of K (by Hilbert's theorem 90, its first cohomology group is zero). If X is a smooth proper scheme over a field K then the l-adic cohomology groups of its geometric fibre are Galois modules for the absolute Galois group of K. Let K be a valued field (with valuation denoted v) and let L/K be a finite Galois extension with Galois group G. For an extension w of v to L, let Iw denote its inertia group. A Galois module ρ : G → Aut(V) is said to be unramified if ρ(Iw) = {1}. In classical algebraic number theory, let L be a Galois extension of a field K, and let G be the corresponding Galois group. Then the ring OL of algebraic integers of L can be considered as an OK[G]-module, and one can ask what its structure is. This is an arithmetic question, in that by the normal basis theorem one knows that L is a free K[G]-module of rank 1. If the same is true for the integers, that is equivalent to the existence of a normal integral basis, i.e. of α in OL such that its conjugate elements under G give a free basis for OL over OK. This is an interesting question even (perhaps especially) when K is the rational number field Q. For example, if L = Q(), is there a normal integral basis? The answer is yes, as one sees by identifying it with Q(ζ) where ζ = exp(2pii/3). In fact all the subfields of the cyclotomic fields for p-th roots of unity for p a prime number have normal integral bases (over Z), as can be deduced from the theory of Gaussian periods (the Hilbert–Speiser theorem).