Resonant scheme for realizing quantum phase gates for two separate atoms via coupled cavities

We propose a scheme for realizing conditional quantum phase gates for two atoms that are distributed in two coupled cavities. Due to the resonant interaction in temporal evolution of the entire system, the gate operation time is greatly reduced as compared with that of the nonresonant schemes. We study the influence of imperfections in the interaction and the effect of decoherence and find the gate to be robust. We discuss the issue related to the practical implementation and show that the gate is accessible within the current cavity QED technology.