2026/05/31 by Hongwei Yuan
Mathematics · #math.AP #msc:35B53 #msc:58J05 #msc:60B05
14 pages,modified some unclear expressions and added some details
arxiv created 2026/08/04 · arxiv updated 2026/08/05
The classical Liouville theorem states that every bounded harmonic function on Euclidean space is constant. On complete Riemannian manifolds, analogous conclusions hold under geometric assumptions such as nonnegative Ricci curvature. The quadratic Wasserstein space P2(M) has no canonical infinite-dimensional Riemannian volume and hence no canonical Laplace--Beltrami operator. We introduce a natural finite-particle notion of harmonicity: a continuous function u:P2(M)→ℝ is called empirically harmonic if, for every N≥1, its pullback under the empirical map ιN(x1,…,xN)=\frac1N∑i=1Nδxi is weakly harmonic on MN. We prove that if M has the finite-product Liouville property, then every bounded empirically harmonic function on P2(M) is constant. In particular, the result applies to M=ℝd and to every complete connected Riemannian manifold with nonnegative Ricci curvature. We also derive a finite-particle chain rule for sufficiently regular functionals on P2(ℝd) and show that the empirical Laplacian is exactly the Hessian trace of a discrete N-particle lift. Finally, if M admits a nonconstant bounded harmonic function, then P2(M) admits a nonconstant bounded empirically harmonic linear statistic.