Simplified realization of two-qubit quantum phase gate with four-level systems in cavity QED

We propose a method for realizing two-qubit quantum phase gate with 4-level systems in cavity QED. In this proposal, the two logical states of a qubit are represented by the two lowest levels of each system, and two intermediate levels of each system are utilized to facilitate coherent control and manipulation of quantum states of the qubits. The present method does not involve cavity-photon population during the operation. In addition, we show that the gate can be achieved using only two-step operations.