  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-1/2
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.
