Optimal-Transport Stability of Inverse Point-Source Problems for Elliptic and Parabolic Equations

Abstract

We establish quantitative global stability estimates, formulated in terms of optimal transport (OT) cost, for inverse point-source problems governed by elliptic and parabolic equations with spatially varying coefficients. The key idea is that the Kantorovich dual potential can be represented as a boundary functional of suitable adjoint solutions, thereby linking OT geometry with boundary observations. In the elliptic case, we construct complex geometric optics solutions that enforce prescribed pointwise constraints, whereas in the parabolic case we employ controllable adjoint solutions that transfer interior information to the boundary. Under mild regularity and separation assumptions, we obtain estimates of the form \[ \mathcal{T}_c(\mu,\nu) \le C\,\|u_1 - u_2\|_{L^2(\partial\Omega)} \quad \text{and} \quad \mathcal{T}_c(\mu,\nu) \le C\,\|u_1 - u_2\|_{L^2(\partial\Omega\times[0,T])}, \] where $\mu$ and $\nu$ are admissible point-source measures. These results provide a unified analytical framework connecting inverse source problems and optimal transport, and establish OT-based stability theory for inverse source problems governed by partial differential equations with spatially varying coefficients.