Generation of quantum states by the dynamics of spin chains: Analytical solution

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 of arbitrary width.