Transfer learning is an essential technique for many machine learning/AI models of complex structures such as large language models and generative AI. The essence of transfer learning is to leverage knowledge from resolved source tasks for a new target task, especially when the sample size $m$ of the training data for the latter is low. In this work, we rigorously analyze the potential benefit of transfer learning in terms of sample efficiency. Specifically, taking an optimal transport viewpoint of transfer learning, we find that when the data dimension $d$ is higher than $3$, the sample complexity for transfer learning is $O(m^{-(α+1)/d})$, with $α$ indicating the smoothness of the data distribution, as opposed to the $O(m^{-p/d})$ sample complexity for direct learning with $p$ indicating the smoothness of the optimal target model. Our finding theoretically supports a better sample efficiency for transfer learning, when the target task is optimizing over a family of not-so-smooth models (i.e., highly complex networks with the possible use of non-smooth activation functions). Using image classification as an example, we numerically demonstrate the sample efficiency for transfer learning, that is, in the data hungry regime, the model performance can be significantly improved by transfer learning.

Despite the remarkable empirical success of generative models, the available theory on their statistical accuracy in scientific computing remains largely pessimistic. This paper develops a theoretical framework for understanding the regularity of transport maps and the generalization properties of one-step Wasserstein-guided generative models for PDE-induced probability measures. We consider normalized target densities associated with linear elliptic and parabolic equations on bounded domains, as well as diffusion and Fokker--Planck equations on the torus. Under standard structural assumptions, we prove that these target measures satisfy doubling conditions. By combining this fact with regularity theory for optimal transport between doubling measures, we show that the optimal transport map from a uniform source measure to the target measure is Hölder continuous. This regularity yields an approximation-theoretic justification for one-step generative models that learn PDE-induced distributions via a single pushforward map. As a representative instance, we study DeepParticle and derive excess-risk bounds characterizing the discrepancy between the learned map and the population-optimal map. We also establish a robustness estimate under target shift and illustrate the theory with experiments which support the derived rates.

Optimal transport with quadratic cost provides a geometric framework for steering an ensemble, modeled by a probability law, with minimal effort. Yet ambient-space formulations become unwieldy in high dimensions, and sensing or actuation in practice often reveals only linear views of the state -- camera silhouettes, LiDAR beams, tomographic slices. We develop a sliced feedback controller for distribution steering: the evolving law is projected onto one-dimensional directions on the sphere, the optimal one-dimensional velocity is synthesized in each projection, and these velocities are averaged to produce a feedback control in the ambient space. The construction reduces to the Benamou--Brenier problem in one dimension. In addition, it is invariant under orthogonal transforms, nonexpansive under projections, and well posed on $\mathcal{P}_2(\mathbb{R}^n)$. Computation proceeds by sampling directions on the sphere and solving independent one-dimensional subproblems, yielding a scalable method aligned with partial observations. In the Gaussian setting, we show that the developed sliced controller steers the law to the prescribed target. Furthermore, we derive an identity relating the energy consumption incurred by the controller to the sliced Wasserstein distance.

End-to-end backpropagation is the standard training method of neural networks.

End-to-end backpropagation is the standard training method of neural networks.

For the moment, it is worth noting that such sets of functions (e.g., Haar wavelets, Daubechies wavelets) are readily We are now in a position to present the main theorem of this subsection. To avoid repetition, we defer further discussions on the rates observed in Theorem A.1 to Remark 2.7 where a holistic In fact, by Proposition 1.1, there exists an optimal transport map Based on (B.2), the natural plug-in estimator of ρ Suppose that the same assumptions from Theorem 2.2 hold. B.2 Nonparametric independence testing: Optimal transport based Hilbert-Schmidt independence criterion Proposition B.2 shows that the test based on Further, when the sampling distribution is fixed, Proposition B.2 shows that In the following result (see Appendix C.2 for a proof), we show that if This section is devoted to proving our main results and is organized as follows: In Appendix C.1, we Further by Lemma D.2, we also have: ϕ Note that (C.10) immediately yields the following conclusions: S By (1.5) and some simple algebra, the following holds: null null null S Combining the above display with (C.9), we further have: null null null null 1 2 W Combining the above observation with Theorem 2.1, we have: lim sup For the next part, to simplify notation, let us begin with some notation. By using the exponential Markov's inequality coupled with the standard union Now by using [7, Theorem 2.10], we have P (B We are now in a position to complete the proof of Theorem 2.2 using steps I-III. Therefore, it is now enough to bound the right hand side of (C.17).