For a Finite Galois extension of with algebraically closed characteristic-zero constants, the local decomposition and inertia groups coincide and are cyclic. A fixed compatible choice of primitive roots of unity selects a generator through its uniformizer character of inertia. Changing the prime above a base point conjugates this generator, and changing the uniformizer does not change its character. Without the roots-of-unity convention, only the inertia-subgroup conjugacy class is intrinsic. Over , positive local orientation gives the standard convention.
For the finite Galois extension, normalize the discrete valuation to have value group . The inertia group is
The lower ramification numbering is
The wild inertia group is , and the tame inertia quotient is . We will prove that is a -group, where , and that is cyclic of order prime to . Tame inertia here is a quotient, not a specified canonical subgroup complementary to .
First reduce the inertia calculation to a totally ramified extension. Choose generating the finite residue extension . Its minimal polynomial is separable. Lift that monic polynomial to , and use Hensel lemma in to obtain a root with residue . Irreducibility of the reduction implies irreducibility of over , by the monic form of the Gauss lemma for polynomials over a discrete valuation ring. Thus has degree and residue field ; the degree formula makes unramified. An automorphism fixes precisely when it fixes : the nontrivial direction is uniqueness in Hensel lemma. Hence , and is totally ramified.
Use the permitted integral-generation fact . Every element of fixes the coefficients in this expression. The identity consequently proves the uniformizer criterion for lower ramification groups:
Necessity follows by testing , and the displayed power identity proves sufficiency for every integral polynomial in .
Define the uniformizer character of inertia
It is multiplicative: writing , one has , and acts trivially on residue units. Its kernel is exactly , namely . Changing the uniformizer to leaves the residue character unchanged, since . Therefore
Every finite subgroup of a field's multiplicative group is cyclic: if its exponent is , every element is a root of , so its order is at most ; a finite abelian group has an element of order its exponent, constructed by multiplying elements of maximal prime-power orders, so its order is at least . Equality makes it cyclic. Here has order , prime to . We have proved
To verify the assertion about wild inertia as well, for define
Write and . Composition gives , because inertia fixes residues and . Thus is additive with kernel . Thus positive ramification quotients are elementary abelian: each is a subgroup of the additive finite field, hence an elementary abelian -group.
Finally the filtration terminates: a nonidentity element of cannot fix , since it already fixes and . Its displacement has finite valuation, and there are only finitely many automorphisms. Iterating the finite -group quotients gives that is a -group. It is normal in and has prime-to- quotient, so it is its unique Sylow -subgroup, justifying the wild inertia terminology.