Brief Reports in Physical Review C (PRC) were originally intended for the publication of short articles on completed research that did not warrant publication as a regular article but satisfied the usual publication criteria. However, the distinction was often lost in practice, resulting in confusion among authors and referees about these criteria and the scientific standards that should be applied to Brief Reports.
Moreover, because all manuscripts are supposed to be held to the same high standards independent of their length, short papers should not be relegated to a separate section at the end of the journal Table of Contents. In view of this, like other Physical Review journals, PRC has decided to discontinue the small Brief Reports section, and instead publish short papers that meet the PRC standards as regular articles. It is our expectation that this will simplify the editorial assessment of manuscripts and refocus PRC on maintaining and improving the quality of the papers we publish.
We emphasize that there is no minimum length for regular articles. Although PRC editors prefer publishing complete, comprehensive accounts of research, the journal has always encouraged publishing important developments right away, either as a Rapid Communication (i.e., as a Letter for a specialized audience) or as a short regular article if the work is incremental but significant. Accordingly, PRC will continue to publish short papers that satisfy the usual acceptance criteria. This includes reports on negative results or Addenda provided that their length is commensurate with the quality of their contents.
As of April 1, 2015, we will no longer accept new submissions to the Brief Reports section, including transfers, and we will stop publishing the Brief Reports section as of July 1, 2015.
Published: 17 March 2015
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevC.91.030001
PACS Number(s): 01.10.Cr
