A linear map is a nilpotent endomorphism if for some positive integer , and a semisimple endomorphism if it is diagonalizable over . Decompose into its generalized eigenspaces , where . Define on to be , and set . Then is diagonalizable, is nilpotent, and both preserve these vector subspaces and commute. Thus
For uniqueness, suppose with semisimple, nilpotent and . Both commute with , so preserve each . On an eigenspace of of eigenvalue inside , the map is and has only the eigenvalue . Since the same subspace lies in , . Hence on , proving and . This is the additive Jordan–Chevalley decomposition.
We need a polynomial consequence of this decomposition. Hermite interpolation supplies a polynomial with , by prescribing for each eigenvalue. For any endomorphism , its semisimple part can likewise be expressed as a polynomial in with zero constant term: if zero is an eigenvalue, its interpolation condition already forces this; if not, add the independent condition .
On , the maps and commute. The first is diagonalizable, with eigenvalues on . The second is nilpotent, since
which vanishes for when . Uniqueness therefore proves adjoint compatibility of additive Jordan decomposition: .
Now assume . The condition implies that both and are invariant under , and every polynomial in with zero constant term maps into . Define to be multiplication by on . It commutes with . On , acts by . Polynomial interpolation on the finite set of differences gives with . The preceding paragraph then expresses as a polynomial in with zero constant term. Consequently , so .
The assumed trace orthogonality nilpotence lemma now follows directly. On , and , while the matrix trace of the nilpotent restriction of is zero. Hence
Every summand is nonnegative, so every eigenvalue of is zero. Its Jordan–Chevalley decomposition therefore has , and is nilpotent. Notice that neither nor was required to be a Lie subalgebra.
If had a pole at one of the finitely many candidate points, choose a polynomial vanishing to sufficiently high order at all the other candidates. Hermite interpolation lets its remaining Taylor coefficients be chosen so that the residue of at the selected pole is nonzero. A small contour around that pole would then have nonzero integral by the residue theorem, contradicting the hypothesis. Hence none of the candidate points is a pole and is entire.