A review of matrix scaling and Sinkhorn's normal form for matrices and positive maps

Abstract

Given a nonnegative matrix $A$, can you find diagonal matrices $D_1,~D_2$ such that $D_1AD_2$ is doubly stochastic? The answer to this question is known as Sinkhorn's theorem. It has been proved with a wide variety of methods, each presenting a variety of possible generalisations. Recently, generalisations such as to positive maps between matrix algebras have become more and more interesting for applications. This text gives a review of over 70 years of matrix scaling. The focus lies on the mathematical landscape surrounding the problem and its solution as well as the generalisation to positive maps and contains hardly any nontrivial unpublished results.