When is Frobenius epic?

Abstract

We prove that a homomorphism of rings of prime characteristic is b-nil formally unramified if and only if its relative Frobenius is an epimorphism. We specialize this result under different finiteness conditions such as (relative) $F$-finiteness and Noetherianity. We give an example where the absolute Frobenius is an epimorphism but is not surjective, as well as an example of a formally unramified homomorphism that is not b-nil formally unramified.