arXiv2026
In its most general form, the optimal problem is an infinite-dimensional optimization problem, yet certain notable instances admit closed-form solutions. We identify the common source of this tractability as \textit{symmetry} and formalize it using Lie group theory. Fixing a Lie group action and a reference distribution, we study optimal transport between measures in the same orbit. For such pairs of measures, restricting the Monge problem to transport maps induced by the group action yields the Lie group orbit transport problem, an optimization over the stabilizer of the reference law that provides an upper bound on the Monge problem. Under suitable regularity conditions, a feasible group-induced map satisfying a $c$-convex first-order certificate attains this bound, solves the original Monge problem, and induces an optimal Kantorovich plan. For the quadratic cost, we establish a structural criterion based on a global Cartan decomposition. Exploiting the nonuniqueness of orbit representations, the criterion constructs an optimal map through a path of group transformations with self-adjoint derivatives. Once verified for an action and reference law, it applies to every pair of orbit measures with finite second moments. For affine-induced actions, Cartan structure on the linear image suffices, and the means and covariance operators determine the optimal map and value explicitly. The framework recovers classical elliptical transport formulas and yields closed-form solutions on congruence orbits generated by absolutely continuous, spectrally invariant reference laws, including Wishart, inverse-Wishart, and matrix beta type~II families with fixed shape parameters. It also recovers the common-copula optimal coupling for multivariate normal sinh-arcsinh laws with unit tailweight parameters sharing a Gaussian copula, and evaluates the optimal transport value in closed form.