Strong coupling between whispering gallery modes and chromium ions in ruby

We report the study of interactions between cavity photons and paramagnetic Cr3+ spins in a ruby ( Cr3+:Al2O3) whispering gallery mode (WGM) resonator. Examining the system at microwave frequencies and millikelvin temperatures, spin-photon couplings up to 610 MHz or about 5% of photon energy are observed between the impurity spins and high quality factor (Q > 10(5)) WGM. Large tunability and spin-spin interaction allows operation in the strong coupling regime. The system exhibits behavior not predicted by the usual Tavis-Cummings model because of interactions within the two-level spin bath, and the existence of numerous photonic modes.