English

No-gap second-order conditions for optimization problems involving transport distances

Optimization and Control 2026-07-30 v1

Abstract

We consider optimization problems in the space of measures. As a regularization term, the problem includes the transport distance to a given prior measure. For the derivation of second-order optimality conditions of no-gap type, the theory of weak-\star second subderivatives is used which will lead to an equivalence with quadratic growth under additional assumptions on the smooth part of the objective and on the Kantorovich potential, i.e., the solution of the dual transport problem. Further, the weak-\star second subderivative is calculated and weak-\star epidifferentiability is proven. Finally, the results are applied to optimal control problems in measure space.

Cite

@article{arxiv.2607.28264,
  title  = {No-gap second-order conditions for optimization problems involving transport distances},
  author = {Nicolas Borchard and Christian Meyer and Gerd Wachsmuth},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2607.28264},
  year   = {2026}
}