One-step implementation of a multiqubit phase gate with one control qubit and multiple target qubits in coupled cavities.

We propose a one-step scheme to implement a multiqubit controlled phase gate with one qubit simultaneously controlling multiple qubits with three-level atoms at distant nodes in coupled cavity arrays. Selective qubit-qubit couplings are achieved by adiabatically eliminating the atomic excited states and photonic states, and the required phase shifts between the control qubit and any target qubit can be realized through suitable choices of the parameters of the external fields. Moreover, the effective model is robust against decoherence because neither the atoms nor the field modes are excited during the gate operation, leading to a useful step toward scalable quantum computing networks.