Random-Oracle Unitary Synthesis is Impossible

A major open problem in quantum complexity is the question of unitary synthesis---namely, is it possible to efficiently implement any unitary, given the ability to evaluate any classical function in superposition? Inspired by a recent work by Brakerski and Yuen (CRYPTO 2026), we propose an ``average-case'' unitary synthesis problem, which asks whether it is possible to efficiently implement a Haar random unitary given access to a random Boolean function. We then demonstrate a superpolynomial query lower bound, establishing that unitary synthesis in this model is impossible. Along with our main result, we settle in the negative a question Brakerski and Yuen pose, of whether scalable pseudorandom unitaries (PRUs) can be implemented in the ROM-PRU model. In particular, we show that in the ROM-PRU model, no Ω(N 1+γ) unitary design on n qubits, where N=2 n, can be efficiently achieved for any γ> 0. On the other hand, we construct an O(N) -design in poly(n) queries in the same model, surpassing the previously best known results which constructed O(sqrt N) -designs.