Picturing qubits in phase space

Focusing particularly on one-qubit and two-qubit systems, I explain how the quantum state of a system of n qubits can be expressed as a real function—a generalized Wigner function—on a discrete 2
ⁿ
× 2
ⁿ
phase pace. The phase space is based on the finite field having 2
ⁿ
elements, and its geometric structure leads naturally to the construction of a complete set of 2
ⁿ
+ 1 mutually conjugate bases.