Variational structure of Fokker-Planck equations with variable mobility

Abstract: We study Fokker--Planck equations with symmetric, positive definite mobility matrices capturing diffusion in heterogeneous environments. A weighted Wasserstein metric is introduced for which these equations are gradient flows. This metric is shown to emerge from an optimal control problem in the space of probability densities for a class of variable mobility matrices, with the cost function capturing the work dissipated via friction. Using the Nash-Kuiper isometric embedding theorem for Riemannian manifolds, we demonstrate the existence of optimal transport maps. Additionally, we construct a time-discrete variational scheme, establish key properties for the associated minimizing problem, and prove convergence to weak solutions of the associated Fokker-Planck equation.