Installation¶

Requirements¶

Python >= 3.10
A conda-compatible package manager: conda, mamba, or micromamba (recommended for the full scientific stack)
Git

Note

MQED-QD depends on compiled libraries (MEEP, MPB, QuTiP, GSL, FFTW, etc.) that are easiest to obtain through conda-forge. A pip-only install is possible but you must provide these libraries yourself.

Clone the repository¶

git clone https://github.com/MQED-transport/Macroscopic-Quantum-Electrodynamics.git
cd MacroscopicQED

Conda / Mamba install (recommended)¶

# Use conda, mamba, or micromamba — the commands are interchangeable
conda env create -f environment.yaml
conda activate mqed
pip install -e .          # install the package in editable mode

This creates the mqed environment with all dependencies (NumPy, SciPy, QuTiP, Hydra, Matplotlib, etc.) and registers the CLI entry points listed in Getting Started.

Pip-only install¶

If you prefer not to use conda:

python -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
pip install -e .

Warning

The pip path installs only the Python dependencies declared in setup.py. Compiled solver backends (MEEP, MPB, harminv, GSL, FFTW) will not be available unless you install them separately. Use the conda path if you need BEM or eigenmode features.

Verify the installation¶

After installing, check that the CLI entry points are available and the test suite passes:

# Should print the Hydra help / default config
mqed_GF_Sommerfeld --help

# Run the test suite
pytest

If mqed_GF_Sommerfeld is not found, make sure your environment is activated and pip install -e . completed without errors.

Dielectric-function data¶

The default configuration reads material data from an Excel file shipped with the repository:

DielectricFunction/dielectric function.xlsx

Sheet Ag_BEM contains a fitted dielectric function for silver. To use a different material, either:

add a new sheet to the existing workbook and update material.excel_config.sheet_name in the YAML config, or
supply a separate .xlsx file and point material.excel_config.filepath to it, or
bypass the file entirely by setting material.source_type: constant and providing a complex value in material.constant_value.

Data directories¶

Several workflows cache intermediate results that downstream steps consume. You may need to create these directories under the project root before your first run:

mkdir -p data/GF_cache data/QDyn_cache