A discrete Benamou-Brenier formulation of Optimal Transport on graphs

arXiv stat.ML / 4/16/2026

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Key Points

  • The paper proposes a discrete optimal-transport framework on graphs that describes mass transport not only across vertices but also along edges by connecting vertex and edge distributions.

Abstract

We propose a discrete transport equation on graphs which connects distributions on both vertices and edges. We then derive a discrete analogue of the Benamou-Brenier formulation for Wasserstein-1 distance on a graph and as a result classify all W_1 geodesics on graphs.