Equiangular weighted frames and conical 2-designs with unequal traces

Abstract

Conical 2-designs are families of positive operators possessing crucial symmetry properties that allow them to efficiently characterize important quantum measures. However, little is known about their general structures and properties. We propose a construction method of conical 2-designs whose elements are not of equal traces, based on a generalization of equiangular weighted frames to non-projective operators. We provide a detailed analysis of their properties, relations to quantum measurements, and applications, together with examples that go beyond the known classes. This constitutes a major step toward a full characterization of informationally overcomplete quantum measurements.