Exact generation of quantum states by the dynamics of spin chains

Abstract: We design a quasi-one dimensional spin chain with engineered coupling strengths such that the natural dynamics of the spin chain evolves a single excitation localized at the left hand site to any specified single particle state on the whole chain. Our treatment is an exact solution to a problem which has already been addressed in approximate ways. As two important examples, we study the $W$ states and Gaussian states with arbitrary width.