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David E Speyer
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The naive Hodge filtration of a smooth affine variety is, indeed, the whole thing. We always have the short exact sequence of complexes: $$0 \to \Omega^{\bullet, \geq p} \to \Omega^{\bullet} \to \Omega^{\bullet, <p} \to 0 \qquad (\ast)$$ so we have a long exact sequence of hypercohomology $$\cdots \to \mathbb{H}^p(X,\Omega^{\bullet, \geq p}) \to \mathbb{H}^p(X,\Omega^{\bullet}) \to \mathbb{H}^p(X,\Omega^{\bullet, < p}) \to \cdots.$$

Now, if $X$ is affine and $C^{\bullet}$ is a complex of quasi-coherent sheaves in degree $\leq k$, then $\mathbb{H}^i(X, C^{\bullet})$ vanishes for $i>k$. (This is the hypercohomology version of "sheaf cohomology of quasi-coherent sheaves on an affine variety vanishes".) So $\mathbb{H}^p(X,\Omega^{\bullet, < p})=0$ in this case, and $\mathbb{H}^p(X,\Omega^{\bullet, \geq p}) \to \mathbb{H}^p(X,\Omega^{\bullet})$ is surjective.

If you identify algebraic de Rham with differential geometric de Rham (which is very deep), then this is a very non-obvious fact: It says that, when $X$ is affine, every class in $H_{DR}^p(X, \mathbb{C})$ can be represented by a closed algebraic (in particular, holomorphic) $p$-form.


For an example where the naive Hodge filtration is more interesting, consider a (smooth, irreducible) projective curve $X$ of genus $g$. The cotangent complex has two terms, $\mathcal{O} \to \Omega^1$. Taking $p=1$, the sequence $(\ast)$ above becomes $$\cdots \to \mathbb{H}^1(\Omega^1[1]) \to H^1_{DR} \to \mathbb{H}^1(\mathcal{O})) \to \cdots$$ or $$\cdots \to H^0(X, \Omega^1) \to H^1_{DR}(X) \to H^1(X, \mathcal{O}) \to \cdots. \qquad (\dagger)$$

Hodge theory tells us that the arrows from and to the "$\cdots$" in $(\dagger)$ are $0$, so we have a short exact sequence: $$0 \to H^0(X, \Omega^1) \to H^1_{DR}(X) \to H^1(X, \mathcal{O}) \to 0.$$ The middle term has dimension $2g$, the left and right terms have dimension $g$.


I like Section 1 of Kedlaya's "$p$-adic cohomology: from theory to practice" as an introduction to this material.

David E Speyer
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