Solving semi-discrete optimal transport problems: star shapedeness and Newton’s method

In this work, we propose a novel implementation of Newton’s method for solving semi-discrete optimal transport (OT) problems for cost functions which are a positive combination of p-norms, 1<p<∞. It is well understood that the solution of a semi-discrete OT problem is equivalent to finding a partition of a bounded region in Laguerre cells, and we prove that the Laguerre cells are star-shaped with respect to the target points. By exploiting the geometry of the Laguerre cells, we obtain an efficient and reliable implementation of Newton’s method to find the sought network structure. We provide implementation details and extensive results in support of our technique in 2-d problems, as well as comparison with other approaches used in the literature.