Wasserstein distance in speed limit inequalities for Markov jump processes

Abstract: The role of the Wasserstein distance in the thermodynamic speed limit inequalities for Markov jump processes is investigated. We elucidate the nature of the Wasserstein distance in the thermodynamic speed limit inequality from three different perspectives with resolving three remaining problems. In the first part, we derive a unified speed limit inequality for a general weighted graph, which reproduces both the conventional speed limit inequality and the trade-off relation between current and entropy production as its special case. In the second part, we treat the setting where the tightest bound with the Wasserstein distance has not yet been obtained and investigate why such a bound is out of reach. In the third part, we compare the speed limit inequalities for Markov jump processes with L$^1$-Wasserstein distance and for overdamped Langevin systems with L$^2$-Wasserstein distance, and argue that these two have different origins despite their apparent similarity.