Transport multi-paths with capacity constraints

Abstract

This article generalizes the study of branched/ramified optimal transportation to those with capacity constraints. Each admissible transport network studied here is represented by a transport multi-path between measures, with a capacity constraint on each of its components. The associated transport cost is given by the sum of the ${\text{M}}_{\alpha }$-cost of each component. Using this new formulation, we prove the existence of an optimal solution and provide an upper bound on the number of components for the solution. Additionally, we conduct analytical examinations of the properties (e.g. “map-compatibility”, and “simple common-source property”) of each solution component and explore the interplay among components, particularly in the discrete case.