A Lie algebra representation is completely reducible when it is a direct sum of irreducible submodules. In finite dimension this is equivalent to saying that every submodule has an invariant complementary subspace. Indeed, one may split off a minimal nonzero submodule and induct on dimension; conversely, if is a finite sum of simple submodules, choose a maximal sum of these with . If , some simple summand is not contained in . Then by simplicity, so is a larger sum disjoint from , a contradiction. Thus .
We prove the required splitting by Haar averaging produces invariant complements. The structural input is the compact real form of a complex semisimple Lie algebra: there is a real semisimple algebra with , whose simply connected integrating Lie group is compact. This structural fact is independent of the complete-reducibility assertion. One standard construction uses root vectors normalized so that , with real structure constants compatible with the involution and . The real span
is closed under brackets, complexifies to , and has negative-definite Killing form. The compactness criterion for real semisimple Lie algebras then gives a compact simply connected . Thus this route uses root structure and compact integration, not the theorem being proved.
Restrict to . The integration of a Lie-algebra representation gives a representation , since is simply connected. Choose any positive-definite Hermitian inner product and average using normalized Haar measure:
The integral exists by compactness. It is positive-definite because for , and it is -invariant by translation invariance of Haar measure. Equivalently, every with is skew-Hermitian for this inner product.
Let be an -submodule. It is invariant under , hence under the exponentials generating the connected group . For , and ,
Consequently the orthogonal complement is -invariant, and differentiation makes it -invariant. It is a complex vector subspace, so it is also invariant under and hence under . Therefore as -modules.
Induction on now expresses as a finite direct sum of irreducible submodules. Every finite-dimensional representation of a finite-dimensional complex semisimple Lie algebra is completely reducible. The compact real form need not be the real form originally used to present ; in particular the averaging argument does not require the given presentation to be unitary.
Use the normalization in which a Hodge metric is a Kähler metric whose Kähler form represents the image of an integral cohomology class in real de Rham cohomology. Equivalently, all its periods on integral two-cycles are integers. A convention using only rescales the metric and does not change existence. An invariant metric on a complex torus is one preserved by every translation; its pullback to has constant coefficients.
Let carry a Hodge metric. Average its Kähler form over translations using normalized Haar measure:
This averaging Kähler forms over a complex torus preserves reality, type , closedness and positivity. Indeed, for any nonzero tangent vector, the quantity being averaged in is strictly positive. Every translation is homotopic to the identity, since a path from to supplies such a homotopy. Thus , as is seen either on de Rham cohomology or by integrating over two-cycles. The average is translation invariant by invariance of Haar measure and determines a Kähler metric . Its class is still integral. The reverse implication is immediate. Therefore a Hodge metric exists exactly when an invariant one does.
Here is the Riemann bilinear criterion for a period matrix, with the signs kept explicit. For the period matrix of a complex torus, use real coordinates along the lattice basis, so . An invariant real two-form is
Its period on the coordinate two-torus is ; these tori generate integral second homology. Thus integrality of the class is exactly . Positivity of a Kähler form makes nonsingular. Because the lattice basis is a real basis of , the complex matrix
is invertible: its rows recover the real and imaginary parts of the coordinates. In the coordinates , the matrix of the two-form is , whose inverse is .
The differential form of type (p, q) condition says that the two diagonal blocks of the form matrix vanish. Since the form is nonsingular, this is equivalent to the diagonal blocks of its inverse vanishing. Because is real, these inverse blocks vanish exactly when
Set . Skew-symmetry and reality of give , and the full inverse matrix is
Inverting these blocks identifies the two-form explicitly:
For a vector with complex coordinate column , evaluation yields . Hence this two-form is positive exactly when is a Hermitian positive-definite matrix. This proves both directions: an invariant Hodge metric gives such an integral , and any such produces a constant positive real closed -form of integral periods. In particular,
As a sign check, for and the last matrix is , and the associated form is .
For the specified two-dimensional complex torus, put
The real and imaginary period vectors are independent because , so they do form a full lattice. Suppose a polarization matrix existed. Its inverse is a rational skew-symmetric matrix, and hence has the block expression
The first condition of the Riemann bilinear criterion for a period matrix becomes
Separating real and imaginary parts gives and
The matrices on both sides have rational entries except for the factor . Irrationality of therefore implies and . For a symmetric two-by-two matrix the latter expression is , so . The candidate Hermitian matrix is now
Since , is symmetric and traceless, and is skew-symmetric, and . Thus . A Hermitian positive-definite matrix has strictly positive eigenvalues, hence strictly positive trace. This contradiction proves