Lagrangian calculus for nonsymmetric diffusion operators

We characterize lower bounds for the Bakry–Emery Ricci tensor of nonsymmetric diffusion operators by convexity of entropy and line integrals on the {L^{2}}-Wasserstein space, and define a curvature-dimension condition for general metric measure spaces together with a square integrable 1-form in the sense of [N. Gigli, Nonsmooth differential geometry—an approach tailored for spaces with Ricci curvature bounded from below, Mem. Amer. Math. Soc. 251 2018, 1196, 1–161]. This extends the Lott–Sturm–Villani approach for lower Ricci curvature bounds of metric measure spaces. In generalized smooth context, consequences are new Bishop–Gromov estimates, pre-compactness under measured Gromov–Hausdorff convergence, and a Bonnet–Myers theorem that generalizes previous results by Kuwada [K. Kuwada, A probabilistic approach to the maximal diameter theorem, Math. Nachr. 286 2013, 4, 374–378]. We show that N-warped products together with lifted vector fields satisfy the curvature-dimension condition. For smooth Riemannian manifolds, we derive an evolution variational inequality and contraction estimates for the dual semigroup of nonsymmetric diffusion operators. Another theorem of Kuwada [K. Kuwada, Duality on gradient estimates and Wasserstein controls, J. Funct. Anal. 258 2010, 11, 3758–3774], [K. Kuwada, Space-time Wasserstein controls and Bakry–Ledoux type gradient estimates, Calc. Var. Partial Differential Equations 54 2015, 1, 127–161] yields Bakry–Emery gradient estimates.

First Variation Formula in Wasserstein Spaces over Compact Alexandrov Spaces

We extend results proved by the second author (Amer. J. Math., 2009) for nonnegatively curved Alexandrov spaces to general compact Alexandrov spaces X with curvature bounded below. The gradient flow of a geodesically convex functional on the quadratic Wasserstein space ((X),W2) satisfies the evolution variational inequality. Moreover, the gradient flow enjoys uniqueness and contractivity. These results are obtained by proving a first variation formula for the Wasserstein distance.