Stochastic differential equations for quantum dynamics of spin-boson networks

A popular approach in quantum optics is to map a master equation to a stochastic differential equation, where quantum effects manifest themselves through noise terms. We generalize this approach based on the positive-P representation to systems involving spin, in particular networks or lattices of interacting spins and bosons. We test our approach on a driven dimer of spins and photons, compare it to the master equation, and predict a novel dynamic phase transition in this system. Our numerical approach has scaling advantages over existing methods, but typically requires regularization in terms of drive and dissipation.