Plug-in estimation of Schrödinger bridges

Aram Alexandre Pooladian (Yale U, New Haven)

Feb 09. 2026, 11:10 — 11:45

We propose a procedure for estimating the Schrödinger bridge between two probability distributions. Unlike existing approaches, our method does not require iteratively simulating forward and backward diffusions or training neural networks to fit unknown drifts. Instead, we show that the potentials obtained from solving the static entropic optimal transport problem between the source and target samples can be modified to yield a natural plug-in estimator of the time-dependent drift that defines the bridge between two measures. Under minimal assumptions, we show that our proposal, which we call the \emph{Sinkhorn bridge}, provably estimates the Schrödinger bridge with a rate of convergence that depends on the intrinsic dimensionality of the target measure. Our approach combines results from the areas of sampling, and theoretical and statistical entropic optimal transport. Joint with Jonathan Niles-Weed (NYU)

Further Information
Venue:
ESI Boltzmann Lecture Hall
Associated Event:
Probabilistic Mass Transport - from Schrödinger to Stochastic Analysis (Workshop)
Organizer(s):
Beatrice Acciaio (ETH Zurich)
Julio Backhoff (U of Vienna)
Daniel Bartl (U of Vienna)
Mathias Beiglböck (U of Vienna)
Sigrid Källblad (KTH Stockholm)
Walter Schachermayer (U of Vienna)