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Let $g$ be the real Riemannian metric underlying the Hermitian metric, and let $J$ be the complex structure. The fundamental form of a Hermitian manifold isThe identity $g(Ju,Jv)=g(u,v)$ implies $g(Ju,v)=-g(u,Jv)$, so this is an alternating real two-form. Moreover $\omega (Ju,Jv)=\omega (u,v)$. A two-form with this invariance has type $(1,1)$: on two vectors of type $(1,0)$, applying $J$ to both multiplies its value by $i^2=-1$, forcing that value to vanish; the same argument applies to type $(0,1)$. Hence $\omega$ is a real $(1,1)$-form.

Use the complex-linear convention for the complex Hodge star operator, extending the real star. The complex orientation and metric define $dV={\omega }^n/n!$, andHere the Hermitian inner product is linear in the first argument. With this convention, on the even-dimensional underlying real manifold the formal adjoints are $d^{\ast }=-\ast d\ast$, ${\bar{\partial }}^{\ast }=-\ast \partial \ast$ and ${\partial }^{\ast }=-\ast \bar{\partial }\ast$. A conjugate-linear star is another convention, but then the adjoint formulas must change accordingly.

The Hodge Laplacian and Dolbeault Laplacian areAlso write ${\Delta }_{\partial }=\partial {\partial }^{\ast }+{\partial }^{\ast }\partial$. They are nonnegative, since for exampleThe requested Dolbeault Hodge decomposition on a compact Hermitian manifold is a compactness statement: on a compact Hermitian manifold without boundary,The harmonic space is finite-dimensional, and taking the harmonic representative induces an isomorphism ${\mathcal{H}}_{\bar{\partial }}^{p,q}\cong H_{\bar{\partial }}^{p,q}(X)$. Compactness is essential to this formulation; it is not asserted on an arbitrary noncompact Hermitian manifold.

Now suppose $X$ is compact and Kähler, so $d\omega =0$. The permitted Kähler Laplacian identity is ${\Delta }_d=2{\Delta }_{\bar{\partial }}=2{\Delta }_{\partial }$, making the three harmonic spaces identical in each bidegree. A $d$-closed pure-type form has $\partial \alpha =\bar{\partial }\alpha =0$, since these two terms have different types. We will construct a Green operator potential for ddbar exactness, rather than invoking the ddbar lemma as the conclusion to be proved.

Let $G$ be the inverse of ${\Delta }_{\bar{\partial }}$ on the orthogonal complement of its harmonic forms, zero on the harmonic space. It is twice the Green operator of the Hodge Laplacian. The Hodge decomposition theorem and elliptic inversion give ${\Delta }_{\bar{\partial }}G=I-H$, with $H$ harmonic projection. It preserves bidegrees. The operators $\partial$ and $\bar{\partial }$ commute with ${\Delta }_{\bar{\partial }}$: the first follows from ${\Delta }_{\bar{\partial }}={\Delta }_{\partial }$ and ${\partial }^2=0$, and the second directly from ${\bar{\partial }}^2=0$. They and their formal adjoints annihilate harmonic forms, so they preserve the orthogonal complement of the harmonic space. Consequently they commute with $G$, by uniqueness of the inverse on the harmonic complement. Thus $u=G\alpha$ and $v=G^2\alpha$ are killed by both differential operators.

The assumed orthogonality makes $H\alpha =Hu=0$. Applying the two Laplacians givesWe also need the mixed anticommutator, which follows from the permitted Laplacian identity rather than an extra unproved lemma. Expand ${\Delta }_d$ using $d=\partial +\bar{\partial }$ and $d^{\ast }={\partial }^{\ast }+{\bar{\partial }}^{\ast }$. Since ${\Delta }_d={\Delta }_{\partial }+{\Delta }_{\bar{\partial }}$, its mixed terms sum to zero. Their two bidegrees $(1,-1)$ and $(-1,1)$ are distinct, so each vanishes separately, in particular ${\bar{\partial }}^{\ast }\partial +\partial {\bar{\partial }}^{\ast }=0$. HenceWe have obtained the explicit answerThe positive assumptions on $p,q$ ensure these degrees are available. Conversely such a form is orthogonal to harmonic forms by integration by parts, so the same proof also explains the harmonic orthogonality criterion for ddbar exactness.

For injectivity of the Lefschetz operator on a Hermitian manifold on real one-forms, work at one point in a metric-orthonormal coframe $(e^1,f^1,\dots ,e^n,f^n)$ with $\omega ={\sum }_j{e}^j\wedge f^j$. If $a\ne 0$, a unitary change of coframe makes $a=c{e}^1$, $c\ne 0$. Thensince the displayed basis three-forms are linearly independent. Therefore $L(a)=a\wedge \omega$ has zero kernel. Injectivity on complex one-forms follows by taking real and imaginary parts, since $\omega$ is real. This pointwise proof of injectivity of powers of the Lefschetz operator for degree one does not require the hard Lefschetz theorem.

Closedness of $\omega$ gives $\bar{\partial }L=L\bar{\partial }$. Using the permitted Kähler identities, specifically $[{\bar{\partial }}^{\ast },L]=i\partial$, givesMultiplying by two proves $[{\Delta }_d,L]=0$. In particular the Lefschetz operator preserves harmonic forms and the injective map on one-forms restricts to an injection ${\mathcal{H}}_d^1\hookrightarrow {\mathcal{H}}_d^3$. The de Rham Hodge theorem identifies these real harmonic spaces with the corresponding real cohomology groups. Taking dimensions yields

For a closed manifold $M$ with an oriented Riemannian metric, define $\delta$ to be the formal $L^2$ adjoint operator of the exterior derivative, equivalently $\delta =(-1{)}^{n(q+1)+1}\ast d\ast$ on $q$-forms. The Hodge Laplacian is ${\Delta }_q=d\delta +\delta d$. The Hodge decomposition theorem states that its space ${\mathcal{H}}^q=\ker {\Delta }_q$ of harmonic differential forms is finite-dimensional and smooth, and thatThe last isomorphism sends a harmonic differential form to its de Rham cohomology class: every class has exactly one harmonic representative. Out-of-range degree spaces are zero.

We first justify the analytic facts needed in the proof. In local coordinates and a smooth frame for the form bundle, the principal symbol of ${\Delta }_q$ is $g^{ij}{\xi }_i{\xi }_{j}I$. This follows from the exterior/contraction identities for $d$ and $\delta$. Freezing the leading coefficients, the Fourier transform estimate for the constant positive quadratic form gives, for each nonnegative integer $s$,Here is how to pass to variable coefficients. On a sufficiently small coordinate ball the difference of leading coefficients has arbitrarily small supremum norm. After differentiating $s$ times, its top-order contribution is bounded by $\epsilon \Vert u{\Vert }_{H^{s+2}}$; derivatives of the coefficients and first-order terms contribute $C_s\Vert u{\Vert }_{H^{s+1}}$. A partition of unity gives the same types of terms from commutators with the cutoffs. Absorb the epsilon term and use Sobolev interpolation to absorb $\Vert u{\Vert }_{H^{s+1}}$ into a small multiple of $\Vert u{\Vert }_{H^{s+2}}$ plus $C\Vert u{\Vert }_2$. This proves the estimate.

The first-order energy form $Q(u,u)=\Vert du{\Vert }_2^2+\Vert \delta u{\Vert }_2^2$ satisfies $Q(u,u)+c\Vert u{\Vert }_2^2\ge c^{\prime }\Vert u{\Vert }_{H^1}^2$ for a sufficiently large $c>0$. This follows from the same frozen-symbol argument at first order, or by integrating the principal part and absorbing the lower-order terms. The Lax-Milgram theorem thus constructs a bounded inverse $R=({\Delta }_q+c{)}^{-1}:L^2\to H^1$ in the weak sense. To obtain $H^2$ regularity of this weak solution, use a local difference quotient ${\delta }_{h}u$ and test the weak equation with $-{\delta }_{-h}({\chi }^2{\delta }_{h}u)$. Positivity of $g^{ij}$ bounds $\Vert \chi {\delta }_h\nabla u{\Vert }_2^2$; derivatives of $\chi$ and difference quotients of the smooth coefficients give terms bounded by $C\Vert u{\Vert }_{H^1}\Vert \chi {\delta }_h\nabla u{\Vert }_2$ and $C\Vert u{\Vert }_{H^1}^2$. The forcing contributes at most $C\Vert f{\Vert }_2(\Vert \chi {\delta }_h\nabla u{\Vert }_2+\Vert u{\Vert }_{H^1})$. Absorption gives a bound independent of $h$, so the difference-quotient criterion yields $u\in H^2$. Differentiating the equation and repeating gives the higher estimates and smoothness for smooth forcing. Thus the use of elliptic regularity here has been justified rather than assumed.

The inverse $R$ is compact as an $L^2$ operator by the Rellich-Kondrachov compactness theorem, and self-adjoint by symmetry of the weak energy form. It is positive and injective with dense range. The spectral theorem for compact self-adjoint operators now gives an orthonormal eigenbasis of ${\Delta }_q$, with nonnegative eigenvalues tending to infinity. Each eigenfunction is smooth by the estimates above. In particular ${\mathcal{H}}^q$ is finite-dimensional and there is a positive gap above its zero eigenvalue.

Let $H_q$ be the orthogonal projection onto ${\mathcal{H}}^q$. Define the Green operator of the Hodge Laplacian by multiplying a positive-eigenvalue coefficient by $1/\lambda$ and sending the zero coefficients to zero. The gap makes this bounded on $L^2$, and the elliptic estimate shows it maps $H^s$ to $H^{s+2}$; hence it sends smooth forms to smooth forms. It obeysFor a smooth $q$-form $\alpha$, expand the left side to obtainThese three summands are mutually orthogonal. The energy identityshows that a harmonic differential form has both $dh=0$ and $\delta h=0$, making it orthogonal to the exact and coexact summands by integration by parts. Also $⟨d\beta ,\delta \gamma ⟩=⟨d^2\beta ,\gamma ⟩=0$. This proves the claimed direct sum and its uniqueness.

Finally let $d\alpha =0$ and write $u=G_q\alpha$. We have $d{\Delta }_{q}u={\Delta }_{q+1}du$ because $d^2=0$. Since $d(\alpha -H_q\alpha )=0$, $du$ is harmonic. It is also exact, so its orthogonality to harmonic forms gives $du=0$. The decomposition therefore reduces to $\alpha =H_q\alpha +d\delta u$: every closed differential form is cohomologous to a harmonic one. If a harmonic $h$ is exact, $h=d\beta$, then $\Vert h{\Vert }_2^2=⟨\delta h,\beta ⟩=0$. Hence its class is zero only when $h=0$, establishing the isomorphism with de Rham cohomology.

The Riemannian volume form of an oriented $n$-dimensional Riemannian manifold is the unique positive $n$-form taking value one on every positively oriented orthonormal frame. In positive coordinates,The metric induces an inner product on exterior powers of the cotangent bundle, with wedges of distinct orthonormal covectors forming an orthonormal basis. The Hodge star is the pointwise linear map $\ast :{\Lambda }^p{T}^{\ast }M\to {\Lambda }^{n-p}{T}^{\ast }M$ specified byIt is an isometry and satisfies $\ast \ast \alpha =(-1{)}^{p(n-p)}\alpha$. With the positive-sign convention, the Hodge Laplacian on differential forms isHere $d$ is the exterior derivative and $\delta$ its formal adjoint; $\delta$ on functions is zero. On functions this is the Laplace-Beltrami operatorThe convention $\mathrm{div}\mathrm{grad}$ gives the negative of this operator. All subsequent Laplacians use the nonnegative convention above.

On a compact oriented manifold without boundary, the Hodge decomposition theorem gives an orthogonal decomposition of smooth real forms,The three component forms are uniquely determined, although the potentials in the last two summands need not be unique. The space ${\mathcal{H}}^p$ is finite-dimensional, and each de Rham cohomology class has a unique harmonic representative. Integration by parts gives $⟨\Delta \alpha ,\alpha {⟩}_{L^2}=\Vert d\alpha {\Vert }_{L^2}^2+\Vert \delta \alpha {\Vert }_{L^2}^2$, so harmonic forms are exactly the closed and coclosed forms. Set ${\Omega }^k=0$ outside $0\le k\le n$. Compactness without boundary is a hypothesis of this version of the theorem; orientation alone does not supply it.

A connection on $TM$ induces a dual connection on $T^{\ast }M$ and then connections on its tensor and exterior powers by the Leibniz rule. Explicitly, for a $p$-form $\alpha$,To prove the parallelism of the Riemannian volume form, use a local positively oriented orthonormal frame $E_i$, its dual coframe ${\theta }^i$, and write ${\nabla }_X{E}_j={\sum }_i{a}_{ij}(X)E_i$. Metric compatibility makes the matrix $a(X)$ skew-symmetric. Since ${\omega }_g={\theta }^1\wedge \cdots \wedge {\theta }^n$, differentiating the wedge yieldsOff-diagonal terms vanish because they repeat a coframe factor. Thus $\nabla {\omega }_g=0$; equivalently parallel transport preserves both the metric and the continuously chosen orientation.

Now let $M$ be compact, oriented and without boundary. For representing functionals on harmonic forms by wedge pairing, choose an $L^2$-orthonormal basis $h_1,\dots ,h_b$ of ${\mathcal{H}}^p$ and defineIf $\phi ={\sum }_a{c}_a{h}_a$, linearity givesThis also works when $b=0$, using the empty sum. Since the Hodge star commutes with the Hodge Laplacian, ${\psi }_0$ is harmonic of degree $n-p$.

For the full ambiguity of harmonic wedge-pairing representatives, write another representative as ${\psi }_0+\chi$. Because the star is an isometry,The forms $\ast \phi$ range over all of ${\mathcal{H}}^{n-p}$. Hence $\chi$ gives zero functional exactly when its harmonic projection is zero. Hodge decomposition proves that the complete answer isBoth summands in this ambiguity are permitted; it is not only an exact-form ambiguity. The exact and coexact component forms are orthogonal to every harmonic form, so every displayed choice works. Conversely a nonzero harmonic component would pair nontrivially with some $\ast \phi$, and therefore cannot occur. The harmonic representative $\ast h_f$ is unique; the arbitrary smooth representative generally is not. The formula also covers the endpoint degrees and any exceptional case where the ambiguity space is zero.

For a concrete coexact ambiguity, take the torus $(\mathbb{R}/2\pi \mathbb{Z}{)}^2$ with metric $d{x}^2+d{y}^2$. The form $\chi =\delta (\sin ydx\wedge dy)=\cos ydx$ annihilates every harmonic one-form by orthogonality, yet $d\chi =\sin ydx\wedge dy$ is nonzero. Thus an annihilating representative need not even be closed, let alone exact.

The divergence of a Riemannian vector field $X$ is the trace of the covariant derivative map $Y\mapsto {\nabla }_{Y}X$:It is characterized by ${\mathcal{L}}_X{\omega }_g=(\mathrm{div}X){\omega }_g$ in the oriented case. The metric-dual vector field $X_{\theta }={\theta }^{♯}$ is defined by $g(X_{\theta },Y)=\theta (Y)$ for every $Y$, using the musical isomorphism.

On a compact oriented manifold without boundary, the permitted exactness assertion and Stokes theorem imply ${\int }_M\mathrm{div}Y{\omega }_g=0$ for every smooth vector field $Y$. For a smooth function $a$, the product rule givesSince $⟨da,\theta ⟩=X_{\theta }(a)$, the formal-adjoint identity yieldsThis holds for all $a$; taking $a=\delta \theta +\mathrm{div}{X}_{\theta }$ proves the pointwise formulaIt agrees with $\delta \theta =-\ast d\ast \theta$, since $\ast \theta ={\iota }_{X_{\theta }}{\omega }_g$ and $d{\iota }_{X_{\theta }}{\omega }_g={\mathcal{L}}_{X_{\theta }}{\omega }_g$.

The Bochner formula for one-forms, with the positive Hodge Laplacian, isHere $\Delta =d\delta +\delta d$ acts on one-forms. The covariant derivative $\nabla \theta$ is a section of $T^{\ast }M\otimes T^{\ast }M$, and its formal-adjoint composition, the rough Laplacian, isThis expression is independent of the local orthonormal frame. The Ricci term is the zero-order bundle endomorphism specified byThus the identity separates the differential energy of the form from the curvature contribution; the sign of the Ricci term matches positive sectional curvature on the sphere.

Let $\theta$ be a harmonic one-form on a compact connected manifold with nonnegative Ricci curvature. Pair the formula with $\theta$ and integrate:Both integrands are nonnegative and continuous, so each vanishes everywhere. In particular $\nabla \theta =0$, proving that harmonic one-forms are parallel under nonnegative Ricci curvature. This integration uses the Riemannian volume density and formal adjoints, so orientation is not necessary for the final conclusion.

Fix $p\in M$. The evaluation mapis injective: a parallel form with zero value at $p$ stays zero under parallel transport along every path, and connectedness makes every point reachable from $p$. ThereforeThis is the dimension bound for harmonic one-forms under nonnegative Ricci curvature. The bound is sharp: on a flat $n$-torus the $n$ constant coordinate one-forms are parallel and harmonic. If Ricci curvature is positive definite at even one point, the same integral and parallelism argument force every harmonic one-form to vanish.

Let ${\mathcal{A}}^{p,q}$ denote the sheaf of differential forms of type (p, q) printed in the PDF. Take the pointwise Hermitian inner product to be linear in its first argument, and use $\mathrm{vol}={\omega }^n/n!$. The bidegrees in the question specify the conjugate-linear Hodge star: it is uniquely characterized byThus $\ast (c\beta )=\bar{c}\ast \beta$, and $\ast$ maps bidegree $(p,q)$ to $(n-p,n-q)$. If $S$ is the complex-linear extension of the real Hodge star operator, then $\ast =S\circ \text{complex conjugation}$. The operator $S$ is real and $S^2=(-1{)}^{k(2n-k)}$ on degree $k=p+q$, soUsing the complex-linear star instead would give a different bidegree, $(n-q,n-p)$; keeping the convention explicit prevents that ambiguity.

The Hermitian Lefschetz operator is exterior multiplication by $\omega$. Define $\Lambda$ pointwise byIt lowers bidegree by $(1,1)$. In a unitary real coframe with $\omega ={\sum }_j{e}^j\wedge f^j$, it is $\Lambda ={\sum }_j{\iota }_{f_j}{\iota }_{e_j}$, the corresponding sum of interior product of a differential form operators. This gives its existence and identifies it as a smooth operator. On a compact manifold, integrate the pointwise equality against $\mathrm{vol}$ to obtainNo integration by parts is needed for this order-zero operator. Thus $\Lambda$ is both the pointwise and the global formal adjoint.

Write $[A,B]=AB-BA$, and let $k$ denote the degree of the input form. The given Lefschetz commutator is $[L,\Lambda ]=(k-n)I$. For $r=1$ the required formula is exactly this identity. If it holds for $r$, the commutator derivation identity givesThe second commutator acts on degree $k+2r$, so the coefficient on the right isThis proves the commutator formula for powers of the Lefschetz operator

For injectivity of powers of the Lefschetz operator, $r=0$ is immediate. Suppose $r\ge 1$ and $r+k\le n$. If $k=0$ or $1$, then $\Lambda \psi =0$, and $L^r\psi =0$ impliesThe scalar is nonzero, since $k+r\le n$ makes $k-n+r-1\le -1$. Repeating with the smaller power shows $\psi =0$. For $k\ge 2$, induct on $r+k$, treating all $r=0$ cases as already established. The same commutator calculation yields, with $c=r(k-n+r-1)\ne 0$,The induction hypothesis applies to $L^{r-1}$ on degree $k$, since $(r-1)+k<r+k$ and $(r-1)+k\le n$. Hence $\psi =L\alpha$ with $\alpha =c^{-1}\Lambda \psi$ of degree $k-2$. Moreover $L^{r+1}\alpha =L^r\psi =0$. Since $(r+1)+(k-2)=r+k-1$, induction also makes $L^{r+1}$ injective on that degree, so $\alpha =0$ and $\psi =0$. All operators preserve restriction to open sets; the argument applies on every open set. Therefore $L^r$ is an injective morphism of sheaves whenever $r+k\le n$.

On a Kähler manifold, the Kähler identities, with the positive form convention used above, areTaking formal adjoints conjugates the scalar and reverses the order in the commutator. Since ${\Lambda }^{\ast }=L$, this givesTo derive the Kähler Laplacian identity, put $P=\partial$ and $B=\bar{\partial }$, so $P^2=B^2=0$ and $PB+BP=0$. Write $\{A,B\}=AB+BA$ for an anticommutator. The Kähler identities say $B^{\ast }=-i[\Lambda ,P]$ and $P^{\ast }=i[\Lambda ,B]$. Thereforebecause expansion leaves only terms containing $P^2$ or $B^2$. Furthermore,Expanding these expressions and using $PB=-BP$ makes them equal. Since $d=P+B$ and $d^{\ast }=P^{\ast }+B^{\ast }$, the mixed anticommutators already vanish, and consequentlyClosedness of the Kähler form implies $[L,P]=[L,B]=0$. Using the adjoint identity above,The equality of the three Laplacians therefore proves each Laplacian commutes with $L$.

For a compact Kähler manifold, the Dolbeault Hodge decomposition is the orthogonal decompositionHere harmonicity for the Dolbeault Laplacian and for the Hodge Laplacian agrees by the preceding identity. If $\bar{\partial }\alpha =0$ and $\alpha =h+\bar{\partial }u+{\bar{\partial }}^{\ast }v$, then $\bar{\partial }{\bar{\partial }}^{\ast }v=0$. Taking its inner product with $v$ gives $\Vert {\bar{\partial }}^{\ast }v{\Vert }^2=0$. Thus $\alpha$ is cohomologous to $h$. Conversely, a harmonic form is $\bar{\partial }$-closed, and a harmonic exact form $h=\bar{\partial }u$ satisfies $\Vert h{\Vert }^2=({\bar{\partial }}^{\ast }h,u)=0$. This proves existence and uniqueness of the harmonic representative and henceThese spaces are finite dimensional by the ellipticity of the Dolbeault Laplacian on the compact manifold.

Complex conjugation commutes with the real operator ${\Delta }_d$ and interchanges the bidegrees $(p,q)$ and $(q,p)$. It is therefore a conjugate-linear bijection of the harmonic spaces, proving Hodge symmetry. The real Hodge star operator commutes with ${\Delta }_d$, as does complex conjugation; hence their composition, our conjugate-linear Hodge star, sends harmonic $(p,q)$-forms bijectively to harmonic $(n-p,n-q)$-forms. Its square is the nonzero scalar established above. This proves Hodge duality, and gives

For the final hard Lefschetz isomorphism on Dolbeault cohomology, take $k=p+q\le n$ and $r=n-k$. This restriction is necessary to make the displayed power nonnegative. The Hermitian Lefschetz operator raises bidegree by $(1,1)$, and the Lefschetz operator preserves harmonic forms; thereforeis well defined. It is injective by injectivity of powers of the Lefschetz operator, since $r+k=n$. Hodge symmetry and Hodge duality give $h^{n-q,n-p}=h^{q,p}=h^{p,q}$, so it is a bijection between finite-dimensional spaces of equal dimension. Because $[L,\bar{\partial }]=0$, the map on harmonic representatives agrees with exterior multiplication by $[\omega {]}^{n-k}$ on Dolbeault cohomology. We concludeFor $p+q>n$, the corresponding valid statement is the inverse of the positive-power isomorphism from bidegree $(n-q,n-p)$ to $(p,q)$; a negative exterior-multiplication power is not defined.

Use the given orientation throughout, and the usual convention that the manifold has no boundary. In an oriented manifold chart the metric volume form isIf $y$ is another oriented chart and $A=\partial x/\partial y$, then $g_y=A^t{g}_{x}A$, so $\sqrt{\det g_y}=(\det A)\sqrt{\det g_x}$ because $\det A>0$. This is exactly the transformation of the top exterior product. The formulas therefore agree on overlaps and define a smooth positive volume form. Equivalently it takes value one on any positively oriented orthonormal tangent frame.

The metric induces an inner product on $p$-forms by making the increasing exterior products of an orthonormal coframe orthonormal. The Hodge star operator is the unique pointwise linear map $\ast :{\Lambda }^p{T}^{\ast }M\to {\Lambda }^{n-p}{T}^{\ast }M$ satisfyingFor an increasing multi-index $I$, $\ast e^I$ is the complementary wedge with the sign making $e^I\wedge \ast e^I={\omega }_g$. Swapping the blocks of $p$ and $n-p$ factors introduces $(-1{)}^{p(n-p)}$. ThereforeIn particular $\ast 1={\omega }_g$ and $\ast {\omega }_g=1$.

For compactly supported smooth $f$, the $(n-1)$-form $f\ast \alpha$ has compact support. Stokes theorem and the graded Leibniz rule giveA top form $\tau$ equals $(\ast \tau ){\omega }_g$. Consequently this Hodge integration by parts for one-forms becomes exactlyCompact support of $f$ is enough; $\alpha$ need not itself have compact support.

Define the codifferential on $p$-forms by $\delta =(-1{)}^{n(p+1)+1}\ast d\ast$ and the Hodge Laplacian by $\Delta =d\delta +\delta d$. A harmonic differential form is a smooth form in $\ker \Delta$. On functions this is the positive Laplace-Beltrami operator, $\Delta f=\delta df=-{\mathrm{div}}_g{\mathrm{grad}}_{g}f$. This sign convention is required by the product identity; it is the negative of the $\mathrm{div}\mathrm{grad}$ convention also commonly used for the Laplace-Beltrami operator.

For a $p$-form $\beta$, the square of the Hodge star operator and the codifferential formula giveApplying the second formula to $d\beta$ and the first to $\delta \beta$ givesThus Hodge star commutes with the Hodge Laplacian. Since $\ast$ is invertible, $\beta$ is harmonic if and only if $\ast \beta$ is harmonic. This holds without compactness; we have not used the generally false noncompact implication that a harmonic form must be closed and coclosed.

For a smooth function $h$ and one-form $\alpha$, the same graded Leibniz rule gives $\delta (h\alpha )=h\delta \alpha -\ast (dh\wedge \ast \alpha )=h\delta \alpha -⟨dh,\alpha {⟩}_g$. Apply this to $d(f_1{f}_2)=f_{2}d{f}_1+f_{1}d{f}_2$ to obtain the product rule for the positive Laplace-Beltrami operator

The Hodge decomposition theorem states that on a compact oriented boundaryless Riemannian manifold, smooth forms have the $L^2$-orthogonal decompositionand each de Rham cohomology class has a unique harmonic differential form representative. To spell out the last conclusion, a harmonic form is closed and coclosed because $⟨\Delta \eta ,\eta ⟩=\Vert d\eta {\Vert }^2+\Vert \delta \eta {\Vert }^2$. If a closed form decomposes as $h+du+\delta v$, then $d\delta v=0$; integration by parts gives $\Vert \delta v{\Vert }^2=⟨v,d\delta v⟩=0$. Thus it represents $h$. A harmonic exact form has zero norm by adjointness, proving uniqueness. The analytic existence of the decomposition is the stated Hodge decomposition theorem.

Now let $M$ be compact, connected and oriented. A harmonic function satisfies $0=⟨f,\Delta f⟩=\Vert df{\Vert }^2$, so it is constant. The Hodge star operator identifies ${\mathcal{H}}^0(M)$ with ${\mathcal{H}}^n(M)$, hence ${\mathcal{H}}^n(M)=\mathbb{R}{\omega }_g$. A Riemannian metric exists by Question 3 even if none was initially chosen. Using the harmonic representative of each class, we obtain the top de Rham cohomology of a compact connected oriented manifoldThe class is nonzero also directly from Stokes theorem, since ${\int }_M{\omega }_g>0$ while every exact top form has zero integral. Boundarylessness matters: a compact interval has zero first de Rham cohomology.

Use real differential forms and the usual convention that a smooth manifold has no boundary unless one is specified. On a noncompact manifold the formal-adjoint identity below uses compactly supported forms. On a compact manifold it has no boundary contribution; if a boundary were allowed, extra boundary conditions would be necessary.

The Riemannian metric gives the dual inner product on $T_x^{\ast }M$ and hence the inner product on exterior powers of a cotangent space:Extend this bilinearly. Equivalently, the increasing wedge products of an orthonormal coframe are an orthonormal basis of ${\Lambda }^p{T}_x^{\ast }M$. The Hodge star operator is the unique map $\ast :{\Lambda }^p{T}_x^{\ast }M\to {\Lambda }^{n-p}{T}_x^{\ast }M$ satisfying $\alpha \wedge \ast \beta =⟨\alpha ,\beta ⟩{\mathrm{vol}}_g$. If $e^1,\dots ,e^n$ is a positively oriented orthonormal coframe, $\ast e^I=\epsilon (I,I^c)e^{I^c}$. Moving the $p$ factors of $I$ across the $n-p$ factors of its complement changes the sign by $(-1{)}^{p(n-p)}$, soThe basis formula also proves that $\ast$ is an isometry.

For $\beta \in {\Omega }^{p-1}(M)$ and $\alpha \in {\Omega }^p(M)$ with compactly supported product, the Stokes theorem and the Leibniz rule for the exterior derivative giveThus $(d\beta ,\alpha {)}_{L^2}=(-1{)}^p{\int }_M\beta \wedge d\ast \alpha$. The formal adjoint operator $\delta$ satisfies $\ast \delta \alpha =(-1{)}^{p}d\ast \alpha$. Applying the inverse star and its square on degree $p-1$ gives the codifferentialThe exponent is congruent to $p+(p-1)(n-p+1)$ modulo two, so this convention is consistent in every degree. Define the Hodge Laplacian by $\Delta =d\delta +\delta d$ and a harmonic differential form by $\Delta \alpha =0$. On a compact manifold,Both nonnegative terms vanish for a harmonic form, giving $d\alpha =\delta \alpha =0$. Conversely these two equations imply harmonicity.

Now let $n=4$. The printed eigenvalue relation omits the subscript on its right-hand side; the intended equation is $\ast {\alpha }_{\pm }=\pm {\alpha }_{\pm }$. On two-forms ${\ast }^2=1$, soThese are respectively self-dual two-forms and anti-self-dual two-forms, and sum to $\alpha$. Their uniqueness follows because the $+1$ and $-1$ eigenspaces have zero intersection. Star is an orthogonal involution here, hence is self-adjoint and its opposite eigenspaces are orthogonal.

For closed two-forms define $Q([\alpha ],[\beta ])={\int }_N\alpha \wedge \beta$. Adding $d\xi$ to $\alpha$ changes the integral by ${\int }_{N}d(\xi \wedge \beta )=0$; adding an exact form to $\beta$ has the same effect. This is the real de Rham intersection form in dimension four. The wedge product of differential forms in degrees two and two is symmetric because $(-1{)}^{2\cdot 2}=1$; hence $Q$ is a symmetric bilinear form on $H_{\mathrm{dR}}^2(N;\mathbb{R})$.

In four dimensions $\delta =-\ast d\ast$ in every degree. If $h$ is a harmonic two-form, $\delta h=0$ gives $d\ast h=0$, and $dh=0$ gives $\delta \ast h=-\ast dh=0$. Thus $\ast h$ is harmonic, and ${\mathcal{H}}^2={\mathcal{H}}^{+}\oplus {\mathcal{H}}^{-}$ is the harmonic star-eigenspace decomposition. Use the permitted unique harmonic representative for each de Rham cohomology class. For harmonic $h,k$,The mixed terms vanish by orthogonality. The first restriction is positive definite and the second negative definite. In particular a nonzero harmonic $h$ has $Q(h,\ast h)=\Vert h{\Vert }_{L^2}^2>0$, proving nondegeneracy. Hence the signature of the intersection form from harmonic duality isThe finite dimensions and the harmonic description also follow from the Hodge decomposition theorem.

For completeness, the Hodge decomposition theorem on a compact oriented Riemannian manifold without boundary states the finite-dimensional harmonic space and the $L^2$-orthogonal direct sumThe three summand components are unique, although their potentials need not be. Given an exact three-form $\beta =d\omega$ on $N$, decompose its smooth two-form potential as $\omega =h+d\xi +\delta \psi$, with $\psi \in {\Omega }^3$. Since $dh=0$ and $d^2=0$, $\beta =d\delta \psi$. Put $a=\delta \psi$. In dimension four, $a=-\ast d\ast \psi$, and ${\ast }^2=1$ on two-forms gives $\ast a=-d\ast \psi$, so $d\ast a=0$. ConsequentlyThis constructs a self-dual primitive of an exact three-form. The sum contains no factor $1/2$: it is twice the self-dual projection of the coexact potential. Using the unscaled projection alone would give $d\sigma =\beta /2$. This proves the final unheaded request.