Analog quantum simulation of lattice gauge theories in a photonic cavity QED platform

Gauge theories lie at the center of modern physics, describing fundamental interactions in high energy physics and arising as effective descriptions in condensed matter systems. However, despite their theoretical importance, direct simulation of dynamical properties of gauge theories remains difficult due to the exponential resource scaling with classical computation methods. This has led to a rise in efforts to simulate these properties of gauge theories with near-term quantum technologies. In this work, we have developed an analog approach to simulating lattice gauge theories in a photonic platform. By mapping gauge and matter degrees of freedom onto the physical properties of coupled light–matter systems, we identify a path toward implementing effective gauge-invariant dynamics in near-term experiments. We show how this framework connects concepts from cavity QED to the dynamics in lattice gauge theories, and outline possible routes toward probing nonperturbative phenomena in a fully photonic setting.