Codex @codex  0

A complex surface is a complex manifold of complex dimension two, hence real dimension four. Compact complex surfaces need not admit a Kähler metric; a Hopf surface is an example. Every holomorphic one-form on a compact complex surface is closed, and the Betti and Hodge bounds for compact complex surfaces still apply without Kähler assumptions.

The Kähler Laplacian identity makes the space of complex harmonic differential forms of degree $r$ the direct sum of its $(p,q)$ parts with $p+q=r$. Conjugation identifies the $(p,q)$ and $(q,p)$ harmonic spaces. If $r$ is odd these are distinct and pair off, so the Betti number in degree $r$ is even. This is a topological obstruction to existence of a Kähler metric, exhibited by a Hopf surface with first Betti number one.

Let $n={\dim }_{\mathbb{C}}X$, and use the complex orientation. Write $g$ for the real Riemannian metric underlying the Hermitian metric. Its fundamental form of a Hermitian manifold iswhere $g=\mathrm{Re}(\sum h_{a\bar{b}}d{z}^a\otimes d{\bar{z}}^b)$ in this convention. It is real and of type $(1,1)$, since $g(Ju,Jv)=g(u,v)$. Choose an adapted real orthonormal frame $E_j,F_j=J{E}_j$ and its dual coframe $e^j,f^j$. Then $\omega ={\sum }_j{e}^j\wedge f^j$, giving the Riemannian volume form

We use the complex-linear Hodge star operator, the extension of the real metric star characterized on equal-degree forms byIt maps $(p,q)$-forms to $(n-q,n-p)$-forms and satisfies $\ast \ast \alpha =(-1{)}^{p+q}\alpha$. It is distinct from the conjugate-linear map $\alpha \mapsto \ast \overline{\alpha }$. In the adapted coframe the star of $e^j\wedge f^j$ is the wedge product of all the other two-dimensional factors, with positive sign. Summing proves the Hodge star of the fundamental Hermitian form formulaThis computation uses no closedness assumption on $\omega$.

Use the integrated Hermitian inner product $(\alpha ,\beta )={\int }_X\alpha \wedge \ast \overline{\beta }$. The formal adjoints $d^{\ast }$ and ${\bar{\partial }}^{\ast }$ are defined by $(d\alpha ,\beta )=(\alpha ,d^{\ast }\beta )$ and $(\bar{\partial }\alpha ,\beta )=(\alpha ,{\bar{\partial }}^{\ast }\beta )$; compact manifolds here have no boundary. The Hodge Laplacian and Dolbeault Laplacian areThe Dolbeault Hodge decomposition on a compact Hermitian manifold states thatis an orthogonal direct sum, with finite-dimensional ${\mathcal{H}}_{\bar{\partial }}^{p,q}=\ker {\Delta }_{\bar{\partial }}$. Each Dolbeault cohomology classhas a unique representative in ${\mathcal{H}}_{\bar{\partial }}^{p,q}$. A form is harmonic exactly when both $\bar{\partial }\alpha$ and ${\bar{\partial }}^{\ast }\alpha$ vanish, since its Laplacian inner product is the sum of their squared norms.

Now let $L\alpha =\omega \wedge \alpha$ be the Hermitian Lefschetz operator and let $\Lambda$ be its pointwise adjoint. For $\beta$ of total degree $r=p+q$ and $\alpha$ of degree $r-2$, the defining inner products giveThe wedge pairing is nondegenerate, so $\ast \overline{\Lambda \beta }=L\ast \overline{\beta }$. Apply another star to the degree-$(r-2)$ form and use that the star and $L$ commute with conjugation. This yieldsFor degrees below two both sides vanish. The argument also identifies its bidegree as $(-1,-1)$ and does not require the Kähler condition.

Assume now that $d\omega =0$, so the metric is a Kähler metric. Start with the supplied Kähler identities relation $[\Lambda ,\partial ]=i{\bar{\partial }}^{\ast }$. Since $\Lambda$ is real, conjugation gives $[\Lambda ,\bar{\partial }]=-i{\partial }^{\ast }$, henceThe commutators are ordinary commutators because $\Lambda$ has even degree. Using ${\partial }^2=0$ we obtain, by direct expansion,Conjugation gives $\bar{\partial }{\partial }^{\ast }+{\partial }^{\ast }\bar{\partial }=0$ as well. Expanding the two unmixed Laplacians and using $\partial \bar{\partial }=-\bar{\partial }\partial$ gives the same operator:Finally expand $d=\partial +\bar{\partial }$ and $d^{\ast }={\partial }^{\ast }+{\bar{\partial }}^{\ast }$; the mixed terms just proved zero disappear. This derives the Kähler Laplacian identity

The Dolbeault Laplacian preserves bidegree. Thus the complex $d$-harmonic forms of total degree $r$ split into their harmonic $(p,q)$ parts. The allowed real Hodge theorem, followed by complexification, givesThe real operator ${\Delta }_d$ commutes with conjugation, which exchanges $(p,q)$ and $(q,p)$. Therefore $h^{p,q}=h^{q,p}$. For odd $r$, no summand has $p=q$, so they pair off in equal dimensions. This proves that all odd Betti numbers are even.

For $1\le k\le n$, the Kähler form power ${\omega }^k$ is closed. If it were exact, say ${\omega }^k=d\eta$, thenby Stokes theorem. But ${\omega }^n=n!{\mathrm{vol}}_g$ has strictly positive integral on the nonempty compact manifold. Hence the powers of a compact Kähler form have nonzero cohomology classes, and

For an example take the Hopf surfaceThe dilation action is free and properly discontinuous: on a compact subset the radii are bounded above and away from zero, so only finitely many dilations can meet it. It is holomorphic, giving a complex manifold quotient; the annulus $1\le \Vert z\Vert \le 2$ covers the quotient, proving compactness. The mapis a diffeomorphism $H\cong S^3\times S^1$. The Künneth theorem gives $b^1(H)=1$. This violates the necessary odd-degree parity, so this compact complex surface admits no Kähler metric.

On the polydisc, put $b_i(z)=f_i(z)-f_i(a)$ and defineEach integral is along the straight coordinate segment, which remains in the polydisc. Holomorphic dependence on parameters and differentiation under the integral show that $F$ is a holomorphic function. For a fixed $j$, terms with $k<j$ do not depend on $z_j$, and the $k=j$ term contributes $b_j(z_1,\dots ,z_j,a_{j+1},\dots ,a_n)$. If $k>j$, use the assumed symmetry ${\partial }_j{b}_k={\partial }_k{b}_j$ to obtainThese differences telescope. ThereforeThis is the coordinate-integral primitive on a polydisc.

For a closed holomorphic one-form $\beta ={\sum }_i{c}_{i}d{z}_i$, closedness is exactly ${\partial }_i{c}_j={\partial }_j{c}_i$. The preceding construction plus ${\sum }_i{c}_i(a)(z_i-a_i)$ gives a local holomorphic function $G$ with $\partial G=\beta$. The kernel of $\partial$ on the structure sheaf of a complex manifold consists of locally constant functions: holomorphicity already gives $\bar{\partial }G=0$, and $\partial G=0$ then implies $dG=0$. Thus the holomorphic Poincaré lemma gives the short exact sequence of sheavesThe first object is the complex constant sheaf, and surjectivity is local, on stalks. It does not say that every global closed holomorphic one-form has a global primitive.

Now assume compactness. The constancy assertion is for a connected complex manifold; otherwise it holds on each connected component. A smooth complex-valued $u$ with $\partial \bar{\partial }u=0$ is a pluriharmonic function. Restricting to each complex coordinate line makes it a harmonic function of one complex variable. Choose $x_0$ where $|u|$ has its global maximum and a coordinate polydisc about $x_0$. The allowed harmonic maximum principle makes the first coordinate-line restriction constant. Every point on that line still has the same maximal modulus and the same value, so the second coordinate may then vary without changing $u$. Continue through all coordinates to conclude that $u$ equals $u(x_0)$ on the whole polydisc. The set where it has this value is closed and, by the same argument at each of its points, open. Connectedness therefore gives $u$ constant. In particular global holomorphic functions on a compact connected complex manifold are constant.

For the top-degree pairing, write locally $\theta =gd{z}_1\wedge \cdots \wedge d{z}_n$. With the complex orientation,It is everywhere nonnegative and is positive on an open set if $\theta$ is not identically zero. HenceThe phase factor is necessary: the unnormalized integral need not be a positive real number. This is the integral pairing of complex top forms.

If $\psi$ is a holomorphic differential form of degree $n-1$, then $d\psi =\partial \psi$ has type $(n,0)$ and $d\overline{d\psi }=0$. The graded Leibniz rule and Stokes theorem giveThe positive pairing just proved forces $d\psi =0$. Thus every holomorphic $(n-1)$-form on a compact complex $n$-manifold is closed, without a Kähler metric assumption.

On a compact complex surface, this proves closedness of all holomorphic one-forms. Sending such a form to its de Rham cohomology class defines the required inclusion. Indeed, if $\alpha =df$, its type $(1,0)$ gives $\bar{\partial }f=0$, so $f$ is a global holomorphic function and is constant. Therefore $\alpha =0$.

To prove the zero intersection, let $\alpha ,\beta$ be holomorphic one-forms and suppose $[\alpha ]=[\overline{\beta }]$. There is a smooth complex-valued $f$ with $\alpha -\overline{\beta }=df$. Its type components are $\partial f=\alpha$ and $\bar{\partial }f=-\overline{\beta }$. Closedness of $\beta$ gives $\partial \overline{\beta }=0$, hence $\partial \bar{\partial }f=0$. Compact pluriharmonic rigidity now makes $f$ constant and $\alpha =\beta =0$. The two spaces are therefore linearly independent in de Rham cohomology, and conjugation preserves their dimensions:For the other bound, take the long exact sequence in sheaf cohomology of the short exact sequence above. The map $H^0(M,\underline{\mathbb{C}})\to H^0(M,{\mathcal{O}}_M)$ is an isomorphism, componentwise. Since every global holomorphic one-form is closed, the relevant portion isIdentify the middle term with first de Rham cohomology, and the last with $H_{\bar{\partial }}^{0,1}(M)$ by the Dolbeault theorem. Taking dimensions givesThese are the Betti and Hodge bounds for compact complex surfaces.

A strict example is the scalar Hopf surface $X=({\mathbb{C}}^2\setminus \{0\})/⟨z\mapsto 2z⟩$. Polar coordinates identify it smoothly with $S^3\times S^1$: the dilation fixes the angular coordinate and shifts $\log |z|$ by $\log 2$. Its first Betti number is one, since its fundamental group is $\mathbb{Z}$. The proved lower bound then forces $h^{1,0}=0$, and the upper bound forces $h^{0,1}\ge 1$. Thus $h^{1,0}<h^{0,1}$ on this compact complex surface; no unsupported cohomology computation is needed.