Bound states in the continuum for an array of quantum emitters

Abstract. We study the bound states in the continuum for a system of n two-level quantum emitters, coupled with a one-dimensional photon field, when a single excitation is shared among the different components of the system. The emitters are equally spaced at fixed positions. We first consider the approximation of distant emitters and exhibit degenerate eigenspaces of bound states corresponding to resonant discrete values of the energy. We then consider the full form of the eigenvalue equation, in which the effects of the finite spacing and the field dispersion relation become relevant, yielding significant nonperturbative effects that can lift some degeneracies. We explicitly solve the cases n=3 and n=4 emitters.