Optimal Transportation: Theory and Applications

London Mathematical Society Lecture Note #413

by Yann Ollivier (Editor), Cédric Villani, Hervé Pajot (Editor)

The theory of optimal transportation has its origins in the eighteenth century when the problem of transporting resources at a minimal cost was first formalised. Through subsequent developments, particularly in recent decades, it has become a powerful modern theory. This book contains the proceedings of the summer school 'Optimal Theory and Applications' held at the Fourier Institute in Grenoble. The event brought together mathematicians from pure and applied mathematics, astrophysics, economics and computer science. Part I of this book is devoted to introductory lecture notes accessible to graduate students, while Part II contains research papers. Together, they represent a valuable resource on both fundamental and advanced aspects of optimal transportation, its applications, and its interactions with analysis, geometry, PDE and probability, urban planning and economics. Topics covered include Ricci flow, the Euler equations, functional inequalities, curvature-dimension conditions, and traffic congestion.

316 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2014