On the existence of equiangular tight frames (Q996316)

The focus of this paper is a geometric object called an equiangular tight frame (ETF). An ETF is a \(d\times U\) matrix that has unit-norm columns and orthogonal rows of norm \(\sqrt{N/d}\). An ETF can be viewed as a set of unit vectors in a Hilbert space with the property that the absolute inner products between pairs of vectors are (i) identical and (ii) minimal. As a result, ETFs generalize the geometric properties of an orthonormal basis. ETFs have applications in communications, coding theory, and sparse approximation. The paper provides precise information on the possible pairs \((d,N)\) for which real ETFs can exist. The authors also determine which pairs \((d,N)\) admit a complex ETF. The attention is restricted to unital ETFs of degree \(p\). These ETFs \(S\) have the additional property that each entry of the scaled matrix \(d^{1/2}S\) is a \(p\)th root of unity. Unital ETFs arise frequently in electrical engineering applications. In particular, the article describes restrictions on harmonic ETFs, a specific type of complex ETF that appears in applications. Finally, the paper offers empirical evidence that these conditions are sharp or nearly sharp, especially in the real case.