Embedded Complexity and Quantum Circuit Volume

Quantum circuit complexity is a pivotal concept in quantum information, quantum many-body physics, and high-energy physics. While extensively studied for closed systems, the characterization and dynamics of circuit complexity are little understood for the situation where the system is embedded within a larger system, which encompasses measurement-assisted state preparation. To address this gap, we introduce the notion of embedded complexity, which accounts for both system extensions and measurements. We study the complexity of projected states in a subsystem after measuring its complement and find that in random circuits, the embedded complexity is lower-bounded by the circuit volume -- the total number of gates affecting both the subsystem and its complement. This finding indicates that the total cost of preparing the projected state cannot be reduced by leveraging ancillary qubits and measurements in general. Our result underscores the operational meaning of circuit volume, as it characterizes the embedded complexity of the generated state. Specifically, for random circuits or Clifford circuits, we demonstrate a spacetime conversion that concentrates circuit volume onto a subsystem via a random gate teleportation approach. In scenarios of deep thermalization where the system interacts extensively with a larger system, our analysis suggests that the resulting projected states exhibit high complexity. Additionally, we introduce a shadow tomography protocol that employs only ancillary random states and Bell state measurements, circumventing the need to evolve the input state and thereby simplifying experimental controls.