Approximate quantum error correction (AQEC) provides a versatile framework for both quantum information processing and probing many-body entanglement. We reveal a fundamental tension between the error-correcting power of an AQEC and the hardness of code state preparation. More precisely, through a novel application of the Lovász local lemma, we establish a fundamental trade-off between local indistinguishability and circuit complexity, showing that orthogonal short-range entangled states must be distinguishable via a local operator. These results offer a powerful tool for exploring quantum circuit complexity across diverse settings. As applications, we derive stronger constraints on the complexity of AQEC codes with transversal logical gates and establish strong complexity lower bounds for W state preparation. Our framework also provides a novel perspective for systems with Lieb-Schultz-Mattis type constraints.
Yi et al. (2025) studied this question.