High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! In mathematics, a stochastic matrix, probability matrix, or transition matrix is used to describe the transitions of a Markov chain. It has found use in probability theory, statistics and linear algebra, as well as computer science. There are several different definitions and types of stochastic matrices; A right stochastic matrix is a square matrix each of whose rows consists of nonnegative real numbers, with each row summing to 1. A left stochastic matrix is a square matrix whose columns consist of nonnegative real numbers whose sum is 1. A doubly stochastic matrix where all entries are nonnegative and all rows and all columns sum to 1.