A Variational Surface-Evolution Approach to Optimal Transport over Transitioning Compact Supports with Domain Constraints

Abstract

We examine the optimal mass transport problem in Rn between densities with transitioning compact support by considering the geometry of a continuous interpolating support boundary Γ in space-time within which the mass density evolves according to the fluid dynamical framework of Benamou and Brenier. We treat the geometry of this space-time embedding in terms of points, vectors, and sets in Rn+1=R×Rn and blend the mass density and velocity as well into a space-time solenoidal vector field W|Ω→Rn+1 over a compact set Ω⊂Rn+1. We then formulate a joint optimization for W and its support using the shaped gradient of the space-time surface Γ outlining the support boundary ∂Ω. This easily accommodates spatiotemporal constraints, including obstacles or mandatory regions to visit.