Programmable superradiance in an interacting qubit array

Superradiance is a fundamental phenomenon in quantum optics arising from the collective decay of quantum emitters. Despite its long history, understanding the underlying microscopic dynamics remains an active frontier. Leveraging the strong and tunable light–matter coupling in superconducting circuits, we engineer and control collective decay in an interacting qubit array. By programming the coupling channels, we realize tunable superradiant and subradiant states and demonstrate in situ control of decay rates. Unlike prior studies focused on emitted photons, we directly probe the emitters' quantum states and correlations, revealing the microscopic dynamics of collective dissipation. Our results establish a versatile method for engineering collective dissipations in synthetic quantum systems and open a new way for exploring many-body physics in open quantum systems.