On a compact complex manifold of complex dimension , a holomorphic p-form on a complex manifold of degree is -closed. The form is a nonnegative volume density, positive wherever : in holomorphic coordinates it equals for . If , its integral would vanish by the Stokes theorem, contradicting this positivity. No Kähler metric is needed.
On a complex manifold, holomorphic coordinates give the decomposition , with
For , the conjugate Dolbeault operator and the Dolbeault operator are explicitly
These are the type components of the intrinsic exterior derivative, so are independent of coordinates. The identity , separated by type, gives and . A holomorphic p-form on a complex manifold is a -form whose coefficients are holomorphic functions; equivalently it is a -form killed by the Dolbeault operator.
A rank- holomorphic vector bundle has local trivializations whose changes are , with holomorphic. These transition functions of a vector bundle satisfy and . Equivalently, for local frames we use the convention . A holomorphic section is a section having holomorphic coordinate functions in every such holomorphic local frame; the condition is unchanged by the holomorphic invertible transitions.
The holomorphic cotangent bundle has local frames . Under another holomorphic coordinate system , the chain rule gives
The Jacobian matrix is holomorphic and invertible, with holomorphic inverse supplied by the inverse coordinate change. These are precisely holomorphic bundle transitions. A section written as is holomorphic exactly when every is holomorphic, so
the space of holomorphic one-forms. In particular, being a holomorphic section is not the same as being a -closed one-form on an arbitrary complex manifold.
The complex tautological line bundle is
On use the nowhere-zero frame . Its components are holomorphic affine coordinates and the constant one in position . On overlaps
so the frame changes are nowhere-zero holomorphic functions. This proves that is a holomorphic line bundle, and its inclusion into the trivial bundle is a holomorphic bundle map.
A global holomorphic section composed with that inclusion has component holomorphic functions on compact connected Complex projective space. Each is constant: its absolute value attains a maximum; in a coordinate ball the one-variable maximum modulus principle along complex lines makes it locally constant, and connectedness propagates that constant globally. Thus the section is a fixed vector lying in every fibre, namely every line . For the intersection of all these lines is zero. Hence
The positive-dimension convention is necessary: is one point and this section space is .
On a complex manifold, the exterior derivative splits by type as . The conjugate Dolbeault operator raises holomorphic degree by one and the Dolbeault operator raises antiholomorphic degree by one. Their identities are
Use the convention for the d c operator; then . The alternative convention with a factor changes this last factor only. Complex conjugation of differential-form type interchanges and without reversing the wedge order. Thus, for a real form ,
The resulting form is real, independently of the degree or type components of .
The Dolbeault cohomology is
In degree there is no incoming image, and the kernel consists of global holomorphic functions. On a compact connected , attains a maximum. In a coordinate polydisc around a maximizing point, the one-variable maximum modulus principle applied successively along the coordinate directions makes constant on a smaller polydisc. Alternatively the same argument shows the maximum set is open; it is closed and nonempty, so connectedness makes it all of , and the local constancy then makes globally constant. Consequently
A holomorphic p-form on a complex manifold is a form of type with holomorphic coordinate coefficients, equivalently one killed by . For degree , it is -closed: its vanishes by holomorphicity and its has impossible bidegree . Its conjugate is also closed.
The key positivity behind nonzero holomorphic top forms are not exact is explicit. If , complex orientation gives
This is nonnegative everywhere and positive on some open set when , so its integral on the compact manifold is strictly positive. If , closedness of and the Stokes theorem would give
Here Stokes is used on a compact oriented manifold without boundary, and complex-valued forms are handled by linearity. The contradiction proves a nonzero holomorphic top form is not -exact. For dimension zero the same nonexactness follows directly from the absence of degree forms.
Now take a compact complex surface, with no Kähler metric assumed. For a holomorphic one-form , the form has type and is holomorphic, since . It is exact. The top-form result forces , proving closedness. This establishes holomorphic forms on a compact complex surface are closed by an argument which does not require a Kähler identity.
If a holomorphic one-form were exact, write for a global smooth complex function. Comparing types gives . The preceding compactness argument makes constant on every connected component, hence . Holomorphic two-forms are closed and nonexact unless zero by the top-form result. Holomorphic zero-forms are constant on each component, and a nonzero zero-form is never exact because there are no negative-degree forms. Degrees above two contain only zero forms. Therefore every holomorphic form on a compact complex surface is closed, and a nonzero one is never exact.