Connectionists: Fwd: [seminar.wwtns] REMINDER/ World wide VVTNS series (6th season): Carl van Vreeswijk Memorial Lecture | Wednesday, April 15, 2026, at 11:00 am ET - Physics of Optimal Transport and Schrödinger Bridges​| Henri Orland, IPHT, Saclay, France

[David Hansel]

[image: VVTNS.png]
https://www.wwtns.online
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on twitter: wwtns at TheoreticalWide

You are cordially invited to the
CARL VAN VREESWIJK MEMORIAL LECTURE 2026

Henri Orland
IPHT Saclay, France
on the topic of

Physics of Optimal Transport and Schrödinger Bridges

The lecture will be held on zoom on April 15 ,2026, at *11:00 am ET *

> To receive the link
> https://www.wwtns.online/register-page
>

*Abstract: *Optimal transport is a mathematical method to define a distance
between probability distributions. This is particularly useful in various
domains, including physics, biology, machine learning, and economics, among
others. After introducing the Optimal Transport (OT) problem at finite
temperature, we show how it can be formulated as a statistical physics
problem. This approach allows us to derive very efficient algorithms to
effectively compute the distance between two probability distributions. The
a priori unrelated Schrödinger bridge (SB) problem is presented, and it is
shown to be a dynamical version of the optimal transport problem. Indeed,
the Schrodinger bridge looks for the most probable path in probability
distribution space, which connects two given probabilities. The Schrodinger
bridge problem, originally devised for freely diffusing particles, can be
generalized to the case of interacting particles. It can be formulated in
terms of functional integrals over bosonic fields, which allows us to
derive partial differential equations that characterize the most probable
paths in probability space.


*About VVTNS : Launched as the World Wide  Theoretical Neuroscience Seminar
(WWTNS) in November 2020 and renamed in homage to Carl van Vreeswijk in
Memoriam (April 20, 2022), Speakers have the occasion to talk about
theoretical aspects of their work which cannot be discussed in a setting
where the majority of the audience consists of experimentalists. The
seminars, **held on Wednesdays at 11 am ET,**  are 45-50 min long followed
by a discussion. The talks are recorded with authorization of the speaker
and are available to everybody on our YouTube channel.*


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