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Contemporary Physics

Optimal generalized quantum measurements for quantum information processing

G. Alber

Published Oct 26, 2026• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Recent theoretical developments are reviewed concentrating on the description of optimal generalised quantum measurement processes in physical systems with finite dimensional Hilbert spaces. Based on a self contained presentation of the required underlying quantum theoretical concepts this review particularly addresses recently explored basic theoretical properties and possible applications of informationally complete symmetric generalised measurements, a concept unifying the description of numerous so far largely separately explored measurement scenarios, such as measurements based on complete systems of mutually unbiased bases or symmetric informationally complete measurements. The recent results concerning the construction and existence of these informationally complete symmetric generalised measurements may also shed new light on still open questions concerning some of their special cases, such as the existence of complete sets of mutually unbiased bases in Hilbert spaces of non-prime power dimensions.

DOI
10.1080/00107514.2026.2745419

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Recent theoretical developments are reviewed concentrating on the description of optimal generalised quantum measurement processes in physical systems with finite dimensional Hilbert spaces. Based on a self contained presentation of the required underlying quantum theoretical concepts this review particularly addresses recently explored basic theoretical properties and possible applications of informationally complete symmetric generalised measurements, a concept unifying the description of numerous so far largely separately explored measurement scenarios, such as measurements based on complete systems of mutually unbiased bases or symmetric informationally complete measurements. The recent results concerning the construction and existence of these informationally complete symmetric generalised measurements may also shed new light on still open questions concerning some of their special cases, such as the existence of complete sets of mutually unbiased bases in Hilbert spaces of non-prime power dimensions.
We generalize the concept of mutually unbiased bases (MUB) to measurements which are not necessarily described by rank one projectors. As such, these measurements can be a useful tool to study the long-standing problem of the existence of MUB. We derive their general form, and show that in a finite, d -dimensional Hilbert space, one can construct a complete set of mutually unbiased measurements. Besides their intrinsic link to MUB, we show that these measurements' statistics provide complete information about the state of the system. Moreover, they capture the physical essence of unbiasedness, and in particular, they satisfy a non-trivial entropic uncertainty relation similar to MUB.
We present a brief review of discrete structures in a finite Hilbert space, relevant for the theory of quantum information. Unitary operator bases, mutually unbiased bases, Clifford group and stabilizer states, discrete Wigner function, symmetric informationally complete measurements, projective and unitary t--designs are discussed. Some recent results in the field are covered and several important open questions are formulated. We advocate a geometric approach to the subject and emphasize numerous links to various mathematical problems.
A broad class of informationally complete symmetric measurements is introduced. It can be understood as a common generalization of symmetric, informationally complete positive operator-valued measures and mutually unbiased bases. Additionally, it provides a natural way to define two more families of mutually unbiased symmetric measurement operators in any finite dimension. We show a general method of their construction, together with an example of an optimal measurement. Finally, we analyze the properties of symmetric measurements and provide applications in entropic relations and entanglement detection.
Quantum information theory is a branch of science at the frontier of physics, mathematics, and information science, and offers a variety of solutions that are impossible using classical theory. This book provides a detailed introduction to the key concepts used in processing quantum information and reveals that quantum mechanics is a generalisation of classical probability theory. The second edition contains new sections and entirely new chapters: the hot topic of multipartite entanglement; in-depth discussion of the discrete structures in finite dimensional Hilbert space, including unitary operator bases, mutually unbiased bases, symmetric informationally complete generalized measurements, discrete Wigner function, and unitary designs; the Gleason and Kochen–Specker theorems; the proof of the Lieb conjecture; the measure concentration phenomenon; and the Hastings' non-additivity theorem. This richly-illustrated book will be useful to a broad audience of graduates and researchers interested in quantum information theory. Exercises follow each chapter, with hints and answers supplied.
One of the essential features of quantum mechanics is that most pairs of observables cannot be measured simultaneously. This phenomenon manifests itself most strongly when observables are related to mutually unbiased bases. In this paper, we shed some light on the connection between mutually unbiased bases and another essential feature of quantum mechanics, quantum entanglement. It is shown that a complete set of mutually unbiased bases of a bipartite system contains a fixed amount of entanglement, independent of the choice of the set. This has implications for entanglement distribution among the states of a complete set. In prime-squared dimensions we present an explicit experiment-friendly construction of a complete set with a particularly simple entanglement distribution. Finally, we describe the basic properties of mutually unbiased bases composed of product states only. The constructions are illustrated with explicit examples in low dimensions. We believe that the properties of entanglement in mutually unbiased bases may be one of the ingredients to be taken into account to settle the question of the existence of complete sets. We also expect that they will be relevant to applications of bases in the experimental realization of quantum protocols in higher-dimensional Hilbert spaces.
We generalize the concept of unbiasedness from bases to measurements. We show that mutually unbiased (MU) measurements, which are not necessarily von Neumann measurements, exist in all finite-dimensional Hilbert spaces. We study the geometrical relation between these measurements and symmetric informationally complete measurements. In particular we find that these two kinds of measurements are related to each other as points and lines in finite affine plane geometries. This relation provides a natural way to define discrete phase-space functions based on MU measurements and symmetric informationally complete measurements.