Which pure states give uniform outcomes in several mutually unbiased measurements, and when can they form another measurement basis? We distinguish common unbiased states, their orthonormal completion, and further extension. For a displayed phase-deformed Fourier pair in dimension $2m$, a clock symmetry and skew antiunitary complete every prescribed common unbiased state to an explicit orthonormal basis. In dimension six, an amplitude-profile obstruction proves strong unextendibility of a given mutually unbiased triple when its original third-basis rays are invariant under the ternary clock. We give an exact nonproduct example and an application to a companion whose columns are localized at single Fourier frequencies. For every exact Hadamard matrix in a specified closed entrywise neighborhood of a fixed reference matrix, the coordinate and Hadamard bases have exactly 48 common unbiased rays but no third measurement basis, with a quantitative lower bound on the squared Gram defect of every six-column candidate.
We also study auxiliary complex equations for common states, retaining algebraic multiplicities. For a flat unitary of order six with all $3\times3$ minors nonzero, the projective ray scheme is finite; each singular two-minor contributes two reduced isolated boundary points, and the affine coordinate algebra is finite-dimensional over $\mathbb{C}$. In every order, a critical-algebra identity preserves multiplicities; in dimension six it gives finiteness for a fixed phase fibre. Specialization over a discrete valuation ring controls complete reciprocal-orthogonal collections. A nonphysical Tao/Potts collection separates algebraic from physical solutions. These results do not determine the global maximum number of mutually unbiased bases or classify all triples.
Which pure states give uniform outcomes in several mutually unbiased measurements, and when can they form another measurement basis? We distinguish common unbiased states, their orthonormal completion, and further extension. For a displayed phase-deformed Fourier pair in dimension 2m, a clock symmetry and skew antiunitary complete every prescribed common unbiased state to an explicit orthonormal basis. In dimension six, an amplitude-profile obstruction proves strong unextendibility of a given mutually unbiased triple when its original third-basis rays are invariant under the ternary clock. We give an exact nonproduct example and an application to a companion whose columns are localized at single Fourier frequencies. For every exact Hadamard matrix in a specified closed entrywise neighborhood of a fixed reference matrix, the coordinate and Hadamard bases have exactly 48 common unbiased rays but no third measurement basis, with a quantitative lower bound on the squared Gram defect of every six-column candidate.
We also study auxiliary complex equations for common states, retaining algebraic multiplicities. For a flat unitary of order six with all 3×3 minors nonzero, the projective ray scheme is finite; each singular two-minor contributes two reduced isolated boundary points, and the affine coordinate algebra is finite-dimensional over C. In every order, a critical-algebra identity preserves multiplicities; in dimension six it gives finiteness for a fixed phase fibre. Specialization over a discrete valuation ring controls complete reciprocal-orthogonal collections. A nonphysical Tao/Potts collection separates algebraic from physical solutions. These results do not determine the global maximum number of mutually unbiased bases or classify all triples.
Mutually unbiased bases (MUBs) describe quantum measurements for which certainty in one basis gives uniform outcomes in the others. Their maximum number remains unknown in dimensions that are not powers of a prime. We introduce an ansatz that, in many dimensions, allows us to construct more MUBs than have previously been found. Each basis in the ansatz consists of a diagonal phase matrix applied to a fixed unitary, which is a tensor product of Fourier matrices and, optionally, any real Hadamard matrix. This construction yields five MUBs in dimension 12, six in dimensions 48, 96, and 192, seven in dimensions 36 and 108, and ten in dimension 648. These bases can then be extended to exceed the tensor product bound, asymptotically, in every eighteenth dimension. Moreover, we show that Paley's real Hadamard matrix can be used to construct q+1 bases in dimension d=q(q+1) for every prime power q≡3(mod4). This count grows as d and cannot be exceeded by tensor products of smaller sets.
Mutually Unbiased Bases (MUBs) constitute a fundamental geometric structure in quantum theory, known for providing an optimal measurement scheme for quantum state tomography. In prime and prime-power dimensions, analytical constructions of maximal sets of MUBs are well-known and standard construction relies on the Weyl-Heisenberg (WH) group and finite fields. In non-prime-power dimensions, on the other hand, the existence of such maximal sets remains an open question. We present a generalized numerical method of constructing MUBs without any reliance on \textit{a priori} group structure or specific algebraic frameworks. Formulating the problem at the level of Gram matrix, we reduce the search for complete sets of d+1 MUBs to a phase space optimisation problem. We use the fact that the MUB Gram matrix is a projection matrix, and the third- and fourth-order trace constraints are necessary and sufficient conditions for a projection matrix. We further develop a classification framework based on third-order Bargmann invariants and automorphism groups, allowing us to probe the underlying algebraic and geometric structure of the resulting configurations. Numerical applications of this method in dimensions 3, 4, and 5 demonstrate that all numerically constructed solutions are mutually isomorphic, are isolated points in phase space, and possess automorphism groups that coincide exactly with the Clifford group, the normalizer of the WH group. In the lowest non-prime-power dimension 6 where the existence of a complete set remains open, our numerical search yields no solution. However, for incomplete sets of solutions, our search finds no set of four MUBs, but it yields several inequivalent triples, which we classify and whose neighbourhood we then investigate.
Mutually unbiased bases capture perfect complementarity between two quantum measurements. Extensions beyond pairwise unbiasedness have been proposed, but essentially no non-trivial higher-order constructions are known. We introduce k-fold unbiased measurements (k-UMs), extending the k-fold unbiased bases notion of [arXiv:1706.04446] from rank-one basis measurements to arbitrary-rank projective measurements, and show that this higher-rank setting supports a much richer theory. We develop the notions of algebraic and spectral k-UMs and prove that they coincide for rank-one measurements and triples of measurements (3-UMs). We establish strong no-go results for higher-order rank-one constructions and three-outcome 3-UMs, but obtain infinitely many higher-rank triples using Hadamard matrices and Clifford algebras. We then give these structures an exact operational interpretation in terms of measurement incompatibility. For 3-UMs with any number of outcomes, we determine their generalised incompatibility robustness exactly and construct an explicit joint measurement for their noisy versions at the compatibility threshold. Finally, we implement the symmetry reduction of the sum-of-squares hierarchy recently introduced in [New J. Phys. 28, 064509 (2026)] and give numerical evidence that the noise thresholds arising from the k-UM analysis may characterise the asymptotic behaviour of this hierarchy. In particular, with very high precision, we numerically show that our constructed four-outcome 3-UMs are among the most incompatible triples of four-outcome measurements.
We present a detailed computational and algebraic study of Mutually Unbiased Bases (MUBs) in finite-dimensional Hilbert spaces, with a particular focus on dimensions 2, 3, 4, and the challenging case of 6. Starting from the Hadamard-phase parametrization, we derive explicit analytical conditions for mutual unbiasedness in dimension 4, providing a tractable system of trigonometric constraints on the phase parameters. We then explore a tensor-product construction via Pauli operators, highlighting the algebraic and group-theoretical origin of MUBs in two-qubit systems, and demonstrating how these constructions yield a complete set of 5 MUBs in dimension 4. Extending our approach, we investigate the Fourier-family method in dimension 6, where the absence of a prime-power structure imposes strong rigidity constraints and limits the known constructions to sets of 3 MUBs. We provide a systematic computational framework for testing candidate phase vectors, bridging the gap between analytical insight and numerical exploration. Finally, we generalize the discussion to arbitrary prime-power dimensions, emphasizing the role of finite-field structures, Heisenberg-Weyl operators, and discrete symmetries in generating complete sets of MUBs. Our work offers a transparent, line-by-line verification methodology, highlighting both the geometric and algebraic richness of MUBs, and clarifying why certain dimensions resist full analytical constructions. This study serves as a comprehensive resource for researchers seeking both theoretical understanding and practical construction of MUBs in quantum information science.
Two orthonormal bases in the complex space of dimension d, are said to be mutually unbiased if the square of the magnitude of the inner product of any vector from one basis with any vector in other basis is equal to the reciprocal of the dimension d. Mutually unbiased bases are used for optimal state determination of mixed quantum states. It is known that in any dimension d, the number of mutually unbiased bases is at most d+1. Ivanovic found a complete set of mutually unbiased bases for prime dimensions. His construction was generalized by Wootters and Fields for prime power dimensions. There is a strong connection between maximally commuting bases of orthogonal unitary matrices and mutually unbiased bases. Based on this connection, there exits a constructive proof of the existence of a complete set of mutually unbiased bases for prime power dimensions. This thesis is an exploration on construction of mutually unbiased bases.
Abstract In quantum mechanics, mutually unbiased bases (MUBs) represent orthonormal bases (ONBs) that are as ‘far apart’ as possible, and their classification reveals rich underlying geometric structure. Given a complex inner product space, we construct the space of its ONBs as a discrete quotient of the complete flag manifold. We introduce a metric on this space, which corresponds to the ‘MUBness’ distance. This allows us to describe equivalence between sets of MUBs in terms of the geometry of this space. The subspace of bases that are unbiased with respect to the standard basis decomposes into orbits under a certain group action, and this decomposition corresponds to the classification of complex Hadamard matrices. More generally, we consider a list of k MUBs, that one wishes to extend. The candidates are points in the subspace comprising all bases which are unbiased with respect to the entire list. This space also decomposes into orbits under a group action, and we prove that points in distinct orbits yield inequivalent MUB lists. Thus, we generalize the relation between complex Hadamard matrices and MUBs. As an application, we identify new symmetries that reduce the parameter space of MUB triples in dimension 4 by a factor of 4.