Designs without disorder: unitary $k$-designs from a single-site bulk defect

Abstract

We show that an $O(1)$ local defect is sufficient to generate approximate unitary $k$-designs from an otherwise integrable quantum many-body system. Using a two-Pauli-kick (2PK) protocol with temporal sampling, we demonstrate this mechanism in a fixed-magnetization sector of deterministic XXZ spin chains with a single integrability-breaking bulk defect. We derive an analytical selection rule for the Pauli kicks and show that symmetry-preserving strings with a specific domain-wall count, fixed by the couplings, govern design formation. An exhaustive search over all admissible Pauli strings identifies a broad family of kicks that produce designs in the chaotic regime, whereas no such kicks exist in the integrable limit, including for boundary defects. We further show that the design-forming mechanism remains effective for weak bulk defects as the system size increases.