In the accompanying paper [Y. Mitsuhashi, et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 134, 180404 (2025)], we established the method of characterizing the maximal order of asymptotic unitary designs generated by symmetric local random circuits, and explicitly specified the order in the cases of ${\mathbb{Z}}_{2}, \mathrm{U}(1)$, and $\mathrm{SU}(2)$ symmetries. Here, we provide full details on the derivation of the main theorems for general symmetry and for concrete symmetries. Furthermore, we consider a general framework where we have access to a finite set of connected compact unitary subgroups, which includes symmetric local unitary gate sets.
In the accompanying paper [Y. Mitsuhashi, et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 134, 180404 (2025)], we established the method of characterizing the maximal order of asymptotic unitary designs generated by symmetric local random circuits, and explicitly specified the order in the cases of Z2,U(1), and SU(2) symmetries. Here, we provide full details on the derivation of the main theorems for general symmetry and for concrete symmetries. Furthermore, we consider a general framework where we have access to a finite set of connected compact unitary subgroups, which includes symmetric local unitary gate sets.
We have established the method of characterizing the unitary design generated by a symmetric local random circuit. Concretely, we have shown that the necessary and sufficient condition for the circuit asymptotically forming a t-design is given by simple integer optimization for general symmetry and locality. By using the result, we explicitly give the maximal order of unitary design under the Z_{2}, U(1), and SU(2) symmetries for general locality. This work reveals the relation between the fundamental notions of symmetry and locality in terms of randomness.
We define the unitary design strength of a finite unitary ensemble to be the maximal integer t for which its t-th statistical moment is identical to that of the unitary group. In the presence of physical symmetry, not all operators of an ensemble are symmetry-compatible. This motivates us to define the symmetric design strength of a finite unitary ensemble to be the maximal integer t for which the t-th moments of its symmetry-compatible sub-ensemble match those of the group of symmetry-compatible unitaries. We show that in sufficiently high dimension and for a broad family of symmetries, which includes the global on-site U(1) and SU(d) symmetries, there exist finite unitary ensembles of arbitrarily high design strength whose symmetric design strength is strictly higher. Ensembles with this property may be more versatile under symmetry constraints for protocols that rely on unitary randomization than they are without symmetry. Our results extend the previous work [Mitsuhashi and Yoshioka, PRX Quantum 4.4 (Nov. 2023)] showing that the symmetric design strength of the Clifford group is strictly upper bounded by its unitary design strength for symmetries that do not trivialize the symmetry-compatible unitaries. Due to the special significance of unitary designs with a group structure, we also derive a variety of bounds on the unitary and symmetric design strengths of finite unitary ensembles whose operators form a group. In particular, we provide a simple proof that an arbitrary ensemble of operators forming a finite group must have a symmetric design strength of at most two under the global on-site U(1) and SU(d) symmetries. Along the way, we show that there exist uniformly weighted groups of arbitrarily high symmetric design strength in arbitrary dimension and analyze their structure.
In this work, we study distributions of unitaries generated by random quantum circuits containing only symmetry-respecting gates. We develop a unified approach applicable to all symmetry groups and obtain an equation that determines the exact design properties of such distributions. It has been recently shown that the locality of gates imposes various constraints on realizable unitaries, which in general, significantly depend on the symmetry under consideration. These constraints typically include restrictions on the relative phases between sectors with inequivalent irreducible representations of the symmetry. We call a set of symmetric gates semi-universal if they realize all unitaries that respect the symmetry, up to such restrictions. For instance, while 2-qubit gates are semi-universal for Z2, U(1), and SU(2) symmetries in qubit systems, SU(d) symmetry with d≥3 requires 3-qudit gates for semi-universality. Failure of semi-universality precludes the distribution generated by the random circuits from being even a 2-design for the Haar distribution over symmetry-respecting unitaries. On the other hand, when semi-universality holds, under mild conditions, satisfied by U(1) and SU(2) for example, the distribution becomes a t-design for t growing polynomially with the number of qudits, where the degree is determined by the locality of gates. More generally, we present a simple linear equation that determines the maximum integer tmax for which the uniform distribution of unitaries generated by the circuits is a t-design for all t≤tmax. Notably, for U(1), SU(2) and cyclic groups, we determine the exact value of tmax as a function of the number of qubits and locality of the gates, and for SU(d), we determine the exact value of tmax for up to 4-qudit gates.
Optimal Scaling of Unitary Design Formation in U(1)-Symmetric Random Circuits: A Bottleneck Slower than Charge Transport
Understanding randomness formation under conservation laws is important both for characterizing chaotic phenomena in isolated quantum systems and for symmetry-constrained quantum information processing. U(1)-symmetric random circuits on an N-qubit system provide a minimal tractable setting for this problem, in which the formation rate of unitary designs was conjectured to be governed by charge transport in the underlying circuit geometry. However, whether charge transport indeed sets the slowest relaxation mode has remained an open problem, due to the difficulty in deriving a tight lower bound on the symmetric design formation rate. In this work, we resolve this problem by determining the optimal scaling of the unitary k-design formation rate for k≤O(logN) across a wide range of circuit geometries, including lattices, expander graphs, and all-to-all interactions. In particular, for k≥2, we find that the formation rate is governed by a two-particle encounter rate---the rate at which two random walkers encounter each other in a given circuit geometry. This encounter rate is parametrically smaller than the single-particle transport rate in many geometries, thereby disproving the previous conjecture. We further establish that this encounter mechanism indeed sets the design formation rate by deriving its matching lower bound with a novel proof technique based on an auxiliary subgroup ensemble. Although this encounter mode imposes a robust bottleneck on design formation in U(1)-symmetric random circuits, we also show that this bottleneck can be circumvented by using symmetry-breaking local gates and provide an explicit protocol that achieves faster design formation. These results establish a new picture of randomness formation under conservation laws and provide guiding principles for characterizing and efficiently generating symmetry-constrained randomness.
The generation of k -designs (pseudorandom distributions that emulate the Haar measure up to k moments) with local quantum circuit ensembles is a problem of fundamental importance in quantum information and physics. Despite the extensive understanding of this problem for ordinary random circuits, the crucial situations in which symmetries or conservation laws are in play are known to pose fundamental challenges and remain little understood. Here, we construct explicit local unitary ensembles that can achieve high-order unitary k -designs under transversal continuous symmetry, in the particularly important SU ( d ) case. Specifically, we define the convolutional quantum alternating (CQA) group generated by 4-local SU ( d ) -symmetric Hamiltonians as well as associated 4-local SU ( d ) -symmetric random unitary circuit ensembles and prove that they form and converge to SU ( d ) -symmetric k -designs, respectively, for all k < n ( n − 3 ) / 2 , with n being the number of qudits. A key technique that we employ to obtain the results is the Okounkov-Vershik approach to S n representation theory. To study the convergence time of the CQA ensemble, we develop a numerical method using the Young orthogonal form and the S n branching rule. We provide strong evidence for a subconstant spectral gap and certain convergence time scales of various important circuit architectures, which contrast with the symmetry-free case. We also provide comprehensive explanations of the difficulties and limitations in rigorously analyzing the convergence time using methods that have been effective for cases without symmetries, including Knabe’s local gap threshold and Nachtergaele’s martingale methods. This suggests that a novel approach is likely necessary for understanding the convergence time of SU ( d ) -symmetric local random circuits. Published by the American Physical Society 2024
We have generalized the well-known statement that the Clifford group is a unitary 3-design into symmetric cases by extending the notion of unitary design.Concretely, we have proven that a symmetric Clifford group is a symmetric unitary 3-design if and only if the symmetry constraint is described by some Pauli subgroup.We have also found a complete and unique construction method of symmetric Clifford groups with simple quantum gates for Pauli symmetries.For the overall understanding, we have also considered physically relevant U(1) and SU(2) symmetry constraints, which cannot be described by a Pauli subgroup, and have proven that the symmetric Clifford group is a symmetric unitary 1-design but not a 2-design under those symmetries.Our findings are numerically verified by computing the frame potentials, which measure the difference in randomness between the uniform ensemble on the symmetric group of interest and the symmetric unitary group.This work will open a new perspective into quantum information processing, such as randomized benchmarking, and give a deep understanding to many-body systems, such as monitored random circuits.