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If a degree-$2d$ homogeneous polynomial is a sum of squares polynomial, it has a representation as squares of degree-$d$ homogeneous polynomials. In any sum of squares, the highest-degree terms cannot cancel, since their homogeneous part is itself a sum of squares. Likewise the lowest nonzero degree cannot cancel. Thus every nonzero summand has only degree $d$.

A real polynomial is globally nonnegative if its value is nonnegative at every point of its real domain. A sum of squares polynomial is always nonnegative, but the Horn copositive matrix gives a nonnegative quartic polynomial that is not a sum of squares polynomial.

First suppose $A=P+N$, with $P$ a real positive semidefinite matrix and $N$ a symmetric nonnegative matrix. Factor $P=B^{T}B$, and write $v(z)=(z_1^2,\dots ,z_n^2{)}^T$. ThenEach term is a square multiplied by a nonnegative scalar, so $p$ is a sum of squares polynomial.

Conversely, suppose $p={\sum }_{\ell }{q}_{\ell }^2$. Because $p$ is a degree-four homogeneous polynomial, the homogeneous sum of squares representation allows every $q_{\ell }$ to be quadratic and homogeneous. Explicitly, higher-degree parts cannot cancel in a sum of squares; constant parts vanish because $p(0)=0$, and the degree-two part ${\sum }_{\ell }(q_{\ell }^{(1)}{)}^2$ forces all linear parts to vanish. WriteSince $p$ is invariant under every coordinate sign change, sign averaging of a sum of squares over independent Rademacher random variables givesThe cross terms vanish because their sign products contain an odd power of at least one independent sign. SetThen $P$ is a positive semidefinite matrix and $N$ is a symmetric nonnegative matrix. Comparing the coefficients of $z_i^4$ and $z_i^2{z}_j^2$ gives $A=P+N$. This proves the sum of squares criterion for a biquadratic form.

Let $w=(1,2,1,0,0{)}^T$. Direct multiplication gives $Hw=(0,0,0,2,2{)}^T$, so $w^{T}Hw=0$.

Suppose $H=P+N$, where $P$ is a positive semidefinite matrix and $N$ is a symmetric nonnegative matrix. Since $w\ge 0$, both $w^{T}Pw$ and $w^{T}Nw$ are nonnegative. Their sum is zero, so both vanish. In particular,Every coefficient $w_i{w}_j$ in this sum is strictly positive and every $N_{ij}$ is nonnegative, forcing $N_{ij}=0$ for $1\le i,j\le 3$.

Now apply the same argument to all five cyclic shifts of $w$. The Horn copositive matrix is cyclically invariant, so every shifted vector also has zero quadratic form. It follows that the entries of $N$ vanish on every cyclic block of three consecutive indices. Every pair of indices on a five-cycle lies in such a block, hence $N=0$.

This would imply $P=H$. But the zero quadratic form of a positive semidefinite matrix would then force $Hw=0$, contradicting $Hw=(0,0,0,2,2{)}^T$. Therefore $H$ lies outside the positive-semidefinite-plus-nonnegative cone. By the previous equivalence, its quartic form is a nonnegative polynomial that is not a sum of squares polynomial.