Shape spaces in terms of Wasserstein geometry
Functional Analysis
2025-10-24 v1
Abstract
For a Polish space , we define the Shape space to be the Wasserstein space modulo the action of a subgroup of the isometry group of , where the action is given by the pushforward of measures. The Wasserstein distance can then naturally be transformed into a \emph{Shape distance} on Shape space if and the action of are proper. This is shown for example to be the case for complete connected Riemannian manifolds with being equipped with the compact-open topology. Before finally proposing a notion for tangent spaces on the Shape space , it is shown that is Polish as well in case and the action of are indeed proper. Also, the metric geodesics in are put in relation to the ones in .
Cite
@article{arxiv.2510.19998,
title = {Shape spaces in terms of Wasserstein geometry},
author = {Bernadette Lessel},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2510.19998},
year = {2025}
}