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Physica Scripta

Mutually unbiased bases: a group and graph theoretical approach

G. Alber, Christopher Charnes

Published Oct 30, 2018• 8 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Abstract In this contribution the main ideas underlying recent work aiming at the construction of mutually unbiased bases in finite dimensional Hilbert spaces are discussed. This approach relies on a systematic use of group and graph theoretical concepts announced by Charnes and Beth (2005 ERATO Conf. on Quantum Information Science ) and extended significantly by Charnes (2018 in preparation) recently. A principal feature of this method is its independence of prime number restrictions thus distinguishing it from almost all previous constructions which have relied on finite fields and related concepts of finite geometry. This group and graph theoretical approach offers the possibility to gain new insight into the intricate relation between quantum theoretical complementarity as encoded in mutually unbiased bases and characteristic geometrical structures of the Hilbert space involved.

DOI
10.1088/1402-4896/aaecad

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Abstract In this contribution the main ideas underlying recent work aiming at the construction of mutually unbiased bases in finite dimensional Hilbert spaces are discussed. This approach relies on a systematic use of group and graph theoretical concepts announced by Charnes and Beth (2005 ERATO Conf. on Quantum Information Science ) and extended significantly by Charnes (2018 in preparation) recently. A principal feature of this method is its independence of prime number restrictions thus distinguishing it from almost all previous constructions which have relied on finite fields and related concepts of finite geometry. This group and graph theoretical approach offers the possibility to gain new insight into the intricate relation between quantum theoretical complementarity as encoded in mutually unbiased bases and characteristic geometrical structures of the Hilbert space involved.
We present and generalize the basic ideas underlying recent work aimed at the construction of mutually unbiased bases in finite dimensional Hilbert spaces with the help of group and graph theoretical concepts. In this approach finite groups are used to construct maximal sets of mutually unbiased bases. Thus the prime number restrictions of previous approaches are circumvented and this construction principle sheds new light onto the intricate relation between mutually unbiased bases and characteristic geometrical structures of Hilbert spaces.
The basic methods of constructing the sets of mutually unbiased bases in the Hilbert space of an arbitrary finite dimension are reviewed and an emerging link between them is outlined. It is shown that these methods employ a wide range of important mathematical concepts like, e.g., Fourier transforms, Galois fields and rings, finite and related projective geometries, and entanglement, to mention a few. Some applications of the theory to quantum information tasks are also mentioned. KEY WORDS: mutually unbiased bases; d-dimensional Hilbert space; Galois fields and rings; maximally entangled states.
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 (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 333, 444, and 555 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 666 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.