Approximate quantum error correction, eigenstate thermalization and the chaos bound

Abstract

Quantum error correction, thermalization, and quantum chaos are fundamental aspects of quantum many-body physics that have each developed largely independently, despite their deep conceptual overlap. In this work, we establish a precise link between all three in systems that satisfy the eigenstate thermalization hypothesis (ETH) and exhibit a well-defined hierarchy of time scales between dissipation and scrambling. Building on the ETH matrix ansatz and the structure of the out-of-time-order correlator (OTOC), we show that the chaos bound directly constrains the error of an approximate quantum error-correcting code. This establishes a quantitative relation between information scrambling, thermalization, and correctability. Furthermore, we derive bounds on dynamical fluctuations around the infinite-time average and on fluctuation-dissipation relations, expressed in terms of both the code error and the Lyapunov exponent. Our results reveal how the limits of quantum chaos constrain information preservation in thermalizing quantum systems.