Mutually unbiased bases (MUBs) are important in quantum information theory. While constructions of complete sets of d + 1 MUBs in Copfdare known when d is a prime power, it is unknown if such complete sets exist in non-prime power dimensions. It has been conjectured that sets of complete MUBs only exist in Copfdif a projective plane of size d also exists. We investigate the structure of MUBs using two algebraic tools: relation algebras and group rings. We construct two relation algebras from MUBs and compare these to relation algebras constructed from projective planes. We show several examples of complete sets of MUBs in Copfd, that when considered as elements of a group ring form a commutative monoid. We conjecture that complete sets of MUBs will always form a monoid if the appropriate group ring is chosen.
Mutually unbiased bases (MUBs) are important in quantum information theory. While constructions of complete sets of d + 1 MUBs in Copfdare known when d is a prime power, it is unknown if such complete sets exist in non-prime power dimensions. It has been conjectured that sets of complete MUBs only exist in Copfdif a projective plane of size d also exists. We investigate the structure of MUBs using two algebraic tools: relation algebras and group rings. We construct two relation algebras from MUBs and compare these to relation algebras constructed from projective planes. We show several examples of complete sets of MUBs in Copfd, that when considered as elements of a group ring form a commutative monoid. We conjecture that complete sets of MUBs will always form a monoid if the appropriate group ring is chosen.
Mutually unbiased bases (MUBs) are a primitive used in quantum information processing to capture the principle of complementarity. While constructions of maximal sets of d+1 such bases are known for systems of prime power dimension d, it is unknown whether this bound can be achieved for any non-prime power dimension. In this paper we demonstrate that maximal sets of MUBs come with a rich combinatorial structure by showing that they actually are the same objects as the complex projective 2-designs with angle set {0,1/d}. We also give a new and simple proof that symmetric informationally complete POVMs are complex projective 2-designs with angle set {1/(d+1)}.
Mutually unbiased bases (MUBs) are a primitive used in quantum information processing to capture the principle of complementarity. While constructions of maximal sets of d+1 such bases are known for system of prime power dimension d, it is unknown whether this bound can be achieved for any non-prime power dimension. In this paper we demonstrate that maximal sets of MUBs come with a rich combinatorial structure by showing that they actually are the same objects as the complex projective 2-designs with angle set {0, 1/d}. We also give a new and simple proof that symmetric informationally complete POVMs are complex projective 2-designs with angle set {1/(d+1)}
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 (MUBs) are important in quantum information theory. While constructions of complete sets of d + 1 MUBs in are known when d is a prime power, it is unknown if such complete sets exist in non-prime power dimensions. It has been conjectured that complete sets of MUBs only exist in if a maximal set of mutually orthogonal Latin squares (MOLS) of side length d also exists. There are several constructions (Roy and Scott 2007 J. Math. Phys. 48 072110; Paterek, Dakić and Brukner 2009 Phys. Rev. A 79 012109) of complete sets of MUBs from specific types of MOLS, which use Galois fields to construct the vectors of the MUBs. In this paper, two known constructions of MUBs (Alltop 1980 IEEE Trans. Inf. Theory 26 350–354; Wootters and Fields 1989 Ann. Phys. 191 363–381), both of which use polynomials over a Galois field, are used to construct complete sets of MOLS in the odd prime case. The MOLS come from the inner products of pairs of vectors in the MUBs.
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.
Mutually Unbiased bases has various application in quantum information procession and coding theory. There can be maximum d + 1 MUBs in C^d and d/2 +1 MUBs in R^d. But , over R^d MUBs are known to be non existent when d is odd and for most of the other even d there are mostly 3 Real MUBs. In case of C^d the construction for complete set of MUBs are known for only Prime Power dimension. Thus in general large set of MUBs are not known, particularly for composite dimensions which are not of the form of prime powers. Because of this, there are many constructions of Approximate version of MUBs. In this paper we make an attempt to define certain measures to characterise the AMUBs. Our construction of measures derives its inspiration from the applications of MUBs, and based on them, we define certain quantifiable measures, which are can be computed and gives estimates of how close the Approximate MUBs are to the MUBs. We use geometric interpretation, projective design features of MUBs and applications like Optimal State determination and Entropic Uncertainty of MUBs. We show generic relationship between these measures and show that it can be evaluated for APMUBs without known the exact construction details, thereby showing that definition of APMUB is sufficient completely characterise it. We also evaluate these measure for an interesting class of AMUBs called Weak MUBs and certain AMUBs constructed using RBDs.