A note on a criterion for \(M\)-matrix (Q1037064)

There are many ways to characterize \(M\)-matrices. One of these is: a real \(n\times n\) matrix \(A\) is an \(M\)-matrix if and only if all its off-diagonal entries are \(\leq0\) and all leading principal minors are positive. The authors present a further criterion which may be simpler to verify. For any \(k\times k\) matrix \(A\) write \[ A=\left[ \begin{matrix} A_{0} & b\\ c & d \end{matrix} \right] \] where \(A_{0}\) is a \((k-1)\times(k-1)\) block. Then, assuming \(d\neq0\), define \(f(A):=A-bd^{-1}c.\) If \(A\) is a real \(n\times n\) matrix with non-positive off-diagonal entries then the authors prove that \(A\) is an \(M\)-matrix if and only if the diagonal entries of \(f^{p}(A)\) are all positive for \(p=0,1,\dots,n-1\). Some consequences of this criterion are given.