The complex structure on a complex manifold splits its complexified cotangent bundle into the and eigenspaces, locally spanned by and . A differential form of type (p, q) is a smooth section of , so in holomorphic coordinates it has the expression
Here the increasing multi-indices avoid duplicating alternating factors. The exterior derivative has just two type components: the conjugate Dolbeault operator and the Dolbeault operator . On such a local expression they are
Holomorphic changes of coordinates preserve these types, so the definitions are intrinsic. Comparing type components of gives and .
A real (p, p)-form satisfies , where complex conjugation acts on both coefficients and differential factors. Conjugation exchanges the two Dolbeault operators, so
Thus forces as well. Conversely, if , its distinct and components both vanish. Therefore
The assertion remains valid in top degree, when the indicated type components are zero automatically.
For a holomorphic function , and . Writing its real part as gives
Hence the real part of a holomorphic function is a pluriharmonic function.
For the local exactness assertion, work on a smaller polydisc whose closure lies in the original one. The allowed one-variable integral is the Cauchy-Green operator in coordinate . Applied coefficientwise, it satisfies on a smaller disc and commutes with differentiation in all other coordinates; the smooth parameter dependence follows by applying the integral to a smooth compactly supported extension in the integration variable. This extension can be made with a cutoff equal to one on the smaller disc.
Begin with a Dolbeault operator closed form and decompose it uniquely as , where neither nor contains . Set . The component of is exactly , so
has no factor. It is still -closed. The component of now shows that every coefficient of is holomorphic in .
Apply the same construction in to remove its antiholomorphic differential factor. The operator preserves holomorphicity in , since it commutes with . Consequently the second subtraction introduces no previously removed factor. Continue through all coordinates, shrinking the polydisc when necessary. The final remainder has positive antiholomorphic degree but contains none of the , and hence is zero. This coordinate elimination for local Dolbeault primitives constructs
If , the original form is already zero, so one can take .
Finally let be a smooth -form on the complex projective line. Choose and the two coordinate neighborhoods and , the latter expressed in . They cover the sphere. The one-variable construction, integrating over slightly larger closed discs in each coordinate chart, gives smooth functions on and on with and .
Their difference is a holomorphic function on the annulus . Its Laurent series splits as
The first series extends holomorphically throughout , while the second extends throughout , including infinity, where it has value zero. Thus and agree on the overlap and glue to a global smooth function . Both corrections are holomorphic, so
This Laurent gluing of Dolbeault primitives on the projective line uses no Hodge theorem.