  Quantum link models (QLMs) offer the realistic prospect for the practical
implementation of lattice quantum electrodynamics (QED) on modern quantum
simulators, and they provide a venue for exploring various nonergodic phenomena
relevant to quantum many-body physics. In these models, gauge and electric
fields are represented by spin-$S$ operators. So far, large-scale realizations
of QLMs have been restricted to $S=1/2$ representations, whereas the
lattice-QED limit is approached at $S\to\infty$. Here, we present a bosonic
mapping for the representation of gauge and electric fields with effective
spin-$S$ operators for arbitrarily large values of $S$. Based on this mapping,
we then propose an experimental scheme for the realization of a large-scale
spin-$1$ $\mathrm{U}(1)$ QLM using spinless bosons in an optical superlattice.
Using perturbation theory and infinite matrix product state calculations, which
work directly in the thermodynamic limit, we demonstrate the faithfulness of
the mapping and stability of gauge invariance throughout all accessible
evolution times. We further demonstrate the potential of our proposed quantum
simulator to address relevant high-energy physics by probing the
(de)confinement of an electron--positron pair by tuning the gauge coupling. Our
work provides an essential step towards gauge-theory quantum simulators in the
quantum-field-theory limit.
