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For a real or complex line bundle, its endomorphism bundle is canonically trivial by scalar multiplication. The Bianchi identity therefore reduces to $d{F}_A=0$. The difference of two connections on a vector bundle is a global endomorphism-valued one-form, which here is an ordinary scalar one-form $a$. Since scalar one-forms have vanishing wedge square, the curvature difference formula reduces to $F_{A+a}-F_A=da$. Thus the de Rham cohomology class is independent of the connection on a vector bundle.

Let $D_1$ and $D_2$ be Chern connections on the same holomorphic vector bundle, possibly for different Hermitian metrics, and put $a=D_1-D_2$. Then $a$ has type $(1,0)$ andIndeed, the curvature difference formula has only types $(2,0)$ and $(1,1)$; both Chern curvatures have type $(1,1)$, so the $(2,0)$ part vanishes and the remaining part is $D_2^{0,1}a={\bar{\partial }}_{\mathrm{End}E}a$.

The connection difference as an endomorphism-valued one-form follows because the graded Leibniz rule terms cancel:Thus $a=D_1-D$ is a global endomorphism-valued one-form. To define the endomorphism bundle connection, requireThe right side is $C^{\infty }$-linear in $s$, so it is indeed an endomorphism-valued one-form, and replacing $\varphi$ by $f\varphi$ gives $df\otimes \varphi +f\tilde{D}\varphi$. In a frame with connection matrix $A$, its extension to an endomorphism-valued $k$-form $b$ isThe endomorphism-valued exterior product combines the wedge of differential forms with composition in $\mathrm{End}E$. In particular,Expanding $d(A+a)+(A+a)\wedge (A+a)$ proves the curvature difference formula:

The Chern connection is characterized by metric compatibility and $D^{0,1}={\bar{\partial }}_E$. Take Hermitian inner products linear in the first variable. In a holomorphic local frame write $⟨eu,ev⟩=v^{†}Hu$, with $H$ a positive Hermitian matrix. The second condition forces $A^{0,1}=0$, and metric compatibility isIts $(1,0)$ component determines $A$ uniquely:Conversely this formula and its conjugate transpose satisfy the metric equation. Under a holomorphic local frame change, $H^{\prime }=g^{†}Hg$ and $\partial g^{†}=0$, so the displayed formula transforms by $A^{\prime }=g^{-1}Ag+g^{-1}\partial g$. Hence the local matrices patch, proving existence and uniqueness.

Differentiating $H^{-1}$ givesTherefore the $(2,0)$ vector-bundle curvature is zero. There is no $(0,2)$ component, andThe last equality is ${\bar{\partial }}^{2}A=0$ in holomorphic local frames, so is intrinsic. This is Dolbeault closedness of Chern curvature. The induced endomorphism bundle connection is itself the Chern connection for the Hilbert-Schmidt metric on $\mathrm{End}E$: the tensor product of a metric-compatible connection and its dual preserves the induced metric, and its $(0,1)$ part is the induced holomorphic Dolbeault operator. These two properties and uniqueness suffice; no further matrix calculation is needed.

For two metrics, both Chern connections have the same $(0,1)$ part, so $a\in A^{1,0}(\mathrm{End}E)$. The $(1,1)$ part of the curvature difference formula is just ${\bar{\partial }}_{\mathrm{End}E}a$; the other two terms have type $(2,0)$, which must cancel because both vector-bundle curvatures have type $(1,1)$. ThusBy Dolbeault theorem, this proves that the curvature Dolbeault classis independent of the metric.

Endomorphism composition and wedge product of differential forms define the powers in $A^{k,k}(\mathrm{End}E)$, rather than in a tensor power of the endomorphism bundle. The Dolbeault operator is a derivation, so $\bar{\partial }({\Theta }^k)=0$. The noncommutative telescoping identity gives the stronger explicit independence statementAll powers of vector-bundle curvature have even total degree, so the derivation introduces no extra signs before $a$. Consequentlyis metric independent. For $k>n$, the form space and the resulting class are zero. This proves metric independence of curvature Dolbeault powers without assuming that endomorphism-valued forms commute.

A connection on a vector bundle is a complex-linear map from smooth sections to vector-bundle-valued one-forms satisfyingChoose a locally finite trivializing cover, its componentwise flat connections on a vector bundle $D_i$, and a subordinate smooth partition of unity ${\rho }_i$. The formula $D={\sum }_i{\rho }_i{D}_i$ is globally meaningful: each weighted term extends by zero outside its chart. Its Leibniz rule follows from ${\sum }_i{\rho }_i=1$, proving every smooth complex vector bundle admits a connection.

Extend the connection on a vector bundle to bundle-valued differential forms byThe curvature form of a connection is ${\Theta }_D=D^2$. Applying this twice to $fs$ shows that the $df$ terms cancel, so $D^2$ is tensorial and defines an $\mathrm{End}(E)$-valued two-form. With column coordinates for sections and connection one-form $A$, the local expression is $D=d+A\wedge$. Direct expansion on an arbitrary bundle-valued form givesThe terms containing a derivative of the argument cancel by the graded Leibniz rule. Thus Cartan curvature matrix equation isHere multiplication includes matrix multiplication and the exterior product of form entries. For a frame change $e^{\prime }=eg$, the connection one-form and curvature form of a connection transform asThe trace is consequently frame independent. Alsothe diagonal terms vanish and the off-diagonal terms cancel in pairs. Locally $\mathrm{Tr}\Theta =d\mathrm{Tr}A$, and hence $d\mathrm{Tr}\Theta =0$. The local primitives need not agree, but the two-form does. We obtain a global closed two-form $\mathrm{Tr}{\Theta }_D$.

The determinant connection on $\det E={\bigwedge }^{r}E$ is defined intrinsically bywhere the differential-form coefficient of $D{s}_j$ is placed first. In a local frame, only the diagonal components contribute to the derivative of $e_1\wedge \cdots \wedge e_r$, so its connection one-form is $\mathrm{Tr}A$. A line-bundle connection has curvature $d\mathrm{Tr}A$, because a scalar one-form wedges with itself to zero. ThereforeTo see independence of the de Rham cohomology class, write $D_1-D_0=a$, a globally defined endomorphism-valued one-form. The curvature difference formula and the same trace cancellations give the trace curvature transgressionTheir difference is globally an exact differential form, so their de Rham cohomology classes coincide.

For the Hermitian metric on a holomorphic vector bundle, use the displayed ordering of the local matrices and put $B=(\partial h)h^{-1}$. The identity $\bar{\partial }{h}^{-1}=-h^{-1}(\bar{\partial }h)h^{-1}$ givesThe plus sign comes from applying the graded Leibniz rule to the one-form $\partial h$. By the derivative formula for a determinant,The Hermitian positive-definite matrix $h$ has positive real determinant, so this logarithm is an ordinary smooth real function. The trace of Chern curvature in these conventions is thereforeIt is locally an exact differential form and in particular closed.

A holomorphic local frame change multiplies $\det h$ by $|\det g{|}^2$. A nowhere-zero holomorphic function has a local holomorphic logarithm, so $\bar{\partial }\partial \log |\det g{|}^2=0$. Thus the preceding expression for $\alpha$ is independent of the frame and glues globally. For two Hermitian metrics on a holomorphic vector bundle, the functionis globally defined because the frame-change factors cancel. Their two-forms differ by $d(\partial f)$. Hence the class of $\alpha$ is independent of the metric. The two-form is generally imaginary-valued; the metric independence statement is in complex de Rham cohomology, or equivalently for the real form $i\alpha$.

Let $D_1$ and $D_2$ each be a connection on a vector bundle. Their difference is tensorial, so $D_1=D_2+a$ with $a\in {\Omega }^1(\mathrm{End}E)$. Extend $D_2$ to the endomorphism bundle connection. Expanding $(D_2+a{)}^2$ with the supplied graded Leibniz rule gives the curvature difference formula

Because the two Chern connections have the same $(0,1)$ part, $a=D_1-D_2$ has type $(1,0)$. The curvature difference formula has only $(2,0)$ and $(1,1)$ parts. Both Chern curvatures have type $(1,1)$, so the total $(2,0)$ part vanishes. The remaining part is obtained from $D_2^{0,1}={\bar{\partial }}_{\mathrm{End}E}$, proving the curvature difference of two Chern connections

The difference of two connections on a vector bundle is a global endomorphism-valued one-form. Taking the trace of the curvature difference formula cancels both the commutator terms and the trace of the square of that one-form. Consequently the trace curvatures represent the same de Rham cohomology class.