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Neural quantum states for emitter dynamics in waveguide QED

Tatiana Vovk1,2,*, Anka Van de Walle3,4,5, Hannes Pichler1,2, and Annabelle Bohrdt3,4

  • *Contact author: tatiana.vovk@uibk.ac.at
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Phys. Rev. A 113, 053708 – Published 6 May, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/qccj-6vyt

Abstract

Quantum emitters coupled to one-dimensional waveguides constitute a paradigmatic quantum-optical platform for exploring collective phenomena in open quantum many-body systems. For appropriately spaced emitters, they realize the Dicke model, whose characteristic permutation symmetry allows for efficient exact solutions featuring superradiance. When the emitters are arbitrarily spaced, however, this symmetry is lost and general analytical solutions are no longer available. In this work, we introduce a numerical method to study the dynamics of such systems by extending the time-dependent neural quantum state (t-NQS) framework to open quantum systems. We benchmark our approach across a range of waveguide QED settings and compare its performance with tensor-network calculations. Our results demonstrate that the t-NQS approach is competitive with other numerical methods and highlight the potential of t-NQSs for studying open quantum many-body systems out of equilibrium.

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Phys. Rev. A 113, 053708– Published 6 May, 2026
  • Received 13 August 2025
  • Revised 11 March 2026
  • Accepted 20 April 2026
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