Two-mode stability for multi-marginal optimal transport maps

Abstract

We establish a two-mode stability theory for Monge solutions of the multi-marginal optimal transport problem with barycentric quadratic cost. The associated tuple of maps splits into an external barycentric mode and internal relative modes. A quadratic lower bound for the Kantorovich defect controls the internal modes and yields a square-root estimate without invoking any two-marginal map-stability theorem. The external mode is the optimal transport map from the fixed source to the Wasserstein barycenter. Combining the resulting two-mode estimate with Mérigot's sharp theorem gives a $\frac{1}{4}$-Hölder estimate for general perturbations, while barycenter-preserving perturbations satisfy a $\frac{1}{2}$-Hölder estimate. We prove that both exponents and the dependence on the weights are optimal. We also examine the scope of such decomposition beyond the barycentric cost: collective-coordinate perturbations and uniformly concave costs of the sum retain the two-mode estimate, whereas the analyses of graph interactions, hedonic costs, and translation-invariant costs identify the two possible obstructions -- loss of relative coercivity and lack of stability for the remaining external modes.