The Monge-Ampere equation: various forms and numerical methods

Abstract

We present three novel forms of the Monge-Ampere equation, which is used, e.g., in image processing and in reconstruction of mass transportation in the primordial Universe. The central role in this paper is played by our Fourier integral form, for which we establish positivity and sharp bound properties of the kernels. This is the basis for the development of a new method for solving numerically the space-periodic Monge-Ampere problem in an odd-dimensional space. Convergence is illustrated for a test problem of cosmological type, in which a Gaussian distribution of matter is assumed in each localised object, and the right-hand side of the Monge-Ampere equation is a sum of such distributions.