Small sets of complementary observables

Abstract

Two observables are called complementary if preparing a physical object in an eigenstate of one of them yields a completely random result in a measurement of the other. We investigate small sets of complementary observables that cannot be extended by yet another complementary observable. We construct explicit examples of the unextendible sets up to dimension $16$ and conjecture certain small sets to be unextendible in higher dimensions. Our constructions provide three complementary measurements, only one observable away from the ultimate minimum of two observables in the set. Almost all of our examples in finite dimension allow to discriminate pure states from some mixed states, and shed light on the complex topology of the Bloch space of higher-dimensional quantum systems.

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• Detecting Entanglement can be More Effective with Inequivalent Mutually Unbiased Bases
• Mutually unbiased bases in dimension six containing a product-vector basis
• How many mutually unbiased bases are needed to detect bound entangled states?
• Bipartite Bound Entanglement
• Evidence for and against Zauner's MUB Conjecture in ${\mathbb{C}}^6$