Extremal covariant positive operator valued measures.

We consider the convex set of positive operator valued measures (POVM) which are covariant under a finite dimensional unitary projective representation of a group. We derive a general characterization for the extremal points, and provide bounds for the ranks of the corresponding POVM densities, also relating extremality to uniqueness and stability of optimized measurements. Examples of applications are given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]