| Since the birth of quantum mechanics, it has become apparent that the density operator gives the most complete description of quantum states, both pure and mixed. However, Bloch vectors are also capable of describing all quantum states, with the added bonus that they are real-valued geometrical objects. While Bloch vectors are widely used in many fields such as quantum information and quantum measurement, they are often avoided and may be occasionally misused due to the lack of a complete, centralized theory describing Bloch vectors in depth. Therefore, the purpose of this work is to give a compact, complete introduction to a standard formalism of quantum mechanics for discrete systems in the language of Bloch vectors expressed using hyperspherical parameterizations. The subject matter covers representations of pure and mixed states, unipartite and multipartite systems, closed-form description of Bloch-vector physicality, reductions of state, new investigations of multipartite entanglement, rotations of state, quantum measurements, state and process tomography, quantum operations, and state dynamics in both closed and open quantum systems. A new multipartite entanglement monotone is also developed, with the benefit of being automatically normalized for all possible systems, and it is extended to mixed states with convex roof extension. Emphasis is placed on geometrical interpretations and parameterizations, and on applying the theory to common applications, particularly those related to entanglement and tomography. |
