We study the complexity of Gaussian mixed states in a free scalar field theory using the 'purification complexity'. The latter is defined as the lowest value of the circuit complexity, optimized over all possible purifications of a given mixed state. We argue that the optimal purifications only contain the essential number of ancillary degrees of freedom necessary in order to purify the mixed state. We also introduce the concept of 'mode-by-mode purifications' where each mode in the mixed state is purified separately and examine the extent to which such purifications are optimal. We explore the purification complexity for thermal states of a free scalar QFT in any number of dimensions, and for subregions of the vacuum state in two dimensions. We compare our results to those found using the various holographic proposals for the complexity of subregions. We find a number of qualitative similarities between the two in terms of the structure of divergences and the presence of a volume law. We also examine the 'mutual complexity' in the various cases studied in this paper.

We examine the circuit complexity of coherent states in a free scalar field theory, applying Nielsen's geometric approach as in [1]. The complexity of the coherent states have the same UV divergences as the vacuum state complexity and so we consider the finite increase of the complexity of these states over the vacuum state. One observation is that generally, the optimal circuits introduce entanglement between the normal modes at intermediate stages even though our reference state and target states are not entangled in this basis. We also compare our results from Nielsen's approach with those found using the Fubini-Study method of [2]. For general coherent states, we find that the complexities, as well as the optimal circuits, derived from these two approaches, are different. 11 Of course, a ± are the same quantities which already appeared in eq. (2.14). 12 Here, we assume the definition of 'arccosh' is such that it always yields a positive result.

Recently a Complexity-Action (CA) duality conjecture has been proposed, which relates the quantum complexity of a holographic boundary state to the action of a Wheeler-DeWitt (WDW) patch in the anti-de Sitter (AdS) bulk. In this paper we further investigate the duality conjecture for stationary AdS black holes and derive some exact results for the growth rate of action within the Wheeler-DeWitt (WDW) patch at late time approximation, which is supposed to be dual to the growth rate of quantum complexity of holographic state. Based on the results from the general D-dimensional Reissner-Nordström (RN)-AdS black hole, rotating/charged Bañados-Teitelboim-Zanelli (BTZ) black hole, Kerr-AdS black hole and charged Gauss-Bonnet-AdS black hole, we present a universal formula for the action growth expressed in terms of some thermodynamical quantities associated with the outer and inner horizons of the AdS black holes. And we leave the conjecture unchanged that the stationary AdS black hole in Einstein gravity is the fastest computer in nature.