Reproducing spin lattice models in strongly coupled atom-cavity systems

¹  Centre for Quantum Computation, DAMTP, Centre for Mathematical Sciences, University of Cambridge Wilberforce Road, Cambridge CB3 0WA, UK, EU
²  Science Department, Technical University of Crete - Chania, Crete, Greece, 73100, EU
³  Centre for Quantum Technologies, National University of Singapore - 2 Science Drive 3, Singapore 117543

Corresponding author: dimitris.angelakis@gmail.com

Received: 18 July 2008
Accepted: 5 September 2008

Abstract

In an array of coupled cavities where the cavities are doped with an atomic V-system, and the two excited levels couple to cavity photons of different polarizations, we show how to construct various spin models employed in characterizing phenomena in condensed matter physics, such as the spin-() Ising, XX, Heisenberg, and XXZ models. The ability to construct networks of arbitrary geometry also allows for the simulation of topological effects. By tuning the number of excitations present, the dimension of the spin to be simulated can be controlled, and mixtures of different spin types produced. The facility of single-site addressing, the use of only the natural hopping photon dynamics without external fields, and the recent experimental advances towards strong coupling, makes the prospect of using these arrays as efficient quantum simulators promising.