Charge-conserving unitaries typically generate optimal covariant quantum error-correcting codes

Abstract: Quantum error correction and symmetries play central roles in quantum information science and physics. It is known that quantum error-correcting codes covariant with respect to continuous symmetries cannot correct erasure errors perfectly (an important case being the Eastin-Knill theorem), in contrast to the case without symmetry constraints. Furthermore, there are fundamental limits on the accuracy of such covariant codes for approximate quantum error correction. Here, we consider the quantum error correction capability of random covariant codes. In particular, we show that $U(1)$-covariant codes generated by Haar random $U(1)$-symmetric unitaries, i.e. unitaries that commute with the charge operator (or conserve the charge), typically saturate the fundamental limits to leading order in terms of both the average- and worst-case purified distances against erasure noise. We note that the results hold for symmetric variants of unitary 2-designs, and comment on the convergence problem of charge-conserving random circuits. Our results not only indicate (potentially efficient) randomized constructions of optimal $U(1)$-covariant codes, but also reveal fundamental properties of random charge-conserving unitaries, which may underlie important models of complex quantum systems in wide-ranging physical scenarios where conservation laws are present, such as black holes and many-body spin systems.