Tight informationally complete quantum measurements
A J Scott · Journal of Physics A Mathematical and General · 2006
We introduce a class of informationally complete positive-operator-valued measures which are, in analogy with a tight frame, ‘as close as possible’ to orthonormal bases for the space of quantum states. These measures are distinguished by an exceptionally simple state-reconstruction formula which allows ‘painless’ quantum state tomography. Complete sets of mutually unbiased bases and symmetric informationally complete positive-operator-valued measures are both members of this class, the latter being the unique minimal rank-one members. Recast as ensembles of pure quantum states, the rank-one members are in fact equivalent to weighted 2-designs in complex projective space. These measures are shown to be optimal for quantum cloning and linear quantum state tomography.