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Physical Review Letters

Publishing Guidelines

Thank you for your interest in Physical Review Letters, the world’s premier physics letter journal and the American Physical Society’s flagship publication. Physical Review Letters publishes short, high-quality peer-reviewed reports of the most influential developments and transformative ideas in the full arc of fundamental, applied, and interdisciplinary physics research.

This page guides you through all the steps in the peer-review process, from submission to publication.

Before you submit, be sure to:

To check the status of your paper at any time, visit the APS Manuscript Status page. You will need your manuscript’s 7-digit Accession Code and the last name of one of the first three authors on your paper.

If you need help with any aspect of the publishing process, please including those published in APS Open Science. APS Help.

Prepare Your Manuscript

The guidelines listed here for preparing your paper for submission are similar across all Physical Review journals. For your convenience, these links take you to specific submission guidelines for Physical Review Letters:

Article Types and Length Limits

Letters (length limit: 3750 words)

Letters are brief accounts of highly important original research, which are complete and accessible for the general reader.

The length limit for Letters works out to about four journal pages for the core of the paper (between the abstract and the Acknowledgments). Authors can also add up to two pages of appendices or other content—called End Matter—that specialists will want or need to read. End Matter does not count against the core length limit. The idea is to have a concise writeup for a broad readership, while allowing space for essential details.

Authors may request a waiver for 1/2 page or more for either the core of the paper or the End Matter. In considering a waiver, editors will assess whether there is a clear need for the room and whether the result is of extreme importance or interest. In special cases, editors will consider multiple-page waivers. If you feel you need such a waiver, and can make a convincing case for one, please contact your editor. Please note that decisions on such waivers are not subject to appeal.

Essays (length limit: 3750 words)

Essays are editor-commissioned articles that concisely present researchers’ visions for the future of their field.

Comments and Replies (length limit: 750 words)

A Comment establishes a central error in a published Letter plus any associated Errata. (For example, Comments should not be used mainly to correct bibliographic oversight.) To be considered, Comments must be timely. A Reply is a response to the Comment by the authors of the original paper. See more details about Comments.

Erratum

An Erratum notifies readers about errors or omissions in previously published papers. See more details about Errata in the Policies and Practices.

Visit this Length Guide for information about length limits for all articles published in the Physical Review journals.

Writing the Paper

Audience

Physical Review Letters aims to inform a broad readership of physicists and those in related fields about essential new research in all relevant areas of fundamental and applied physical science. To serve this broad readership, a Letter should have:

  • A title that clearly and accurately conveys the most important and interesting novel results.
  • An abstract that concisely summarizes those results.
  • An introduction that gives the general reader sufficient background and places the work in the context of the existing literature.
  • A central set of sections that explain and establish the results.
  • A concluding section which summarizes the results and points to future directions.
  • Appropriate references (see these guidelines for referencing).

In addition a Letter may contain up to two pages of End Matter: Appendixes and other such sections of great value to the specialist readers.

Conveying impact, innovation, and interest

To be suitable for Physical Review Letters (as opposed to a more specialized journal), the reported research should combine impact, innovation, and interest. When writing your paper, convey these elements clearly and directly. Impactful results are those that substantially advance a field, open a significant new area of research, or solve—or take a crucial step toward solving—a critical outstanding problem. Innovation reflects the extent to which a new result goes beyond previous work. And interest describes the intrinsic appeal of a result.

Article Templates

A PDF version of your paper is all that’s needed for it to be sent for peer review. However, submitting properly formatted source files in LaTeX (preferred) or Microsoft Word simplifies peer-review because information from your paper can be more easily extracted. These source files also allow your paper to be rapidly prepared for publication if accepted. Source files will be converted to a PDF on submission.

Templates Available in Overleaf

Authors who use the online LaTeX editor Overleaf can use APS-approved templates for authoring and submitting their manuscripts. Search for “Physical Review” under Templates. When you’re done authoring, click on “Submit to APS” on the top of the page and choose from the options to export your paper.

Style and Formatting

General

Detailed information on style and formatting is available at APS Journals Style Guide. These Style Basics offer essential tips on formatting and styling the following sections of your paper:

Physical Review Letters-Specific Style and Formatting

  • Titles in References: Physical Review Letters strongly encourages authors to include titles for all references as an aid to the reader and to improve the accuracy of online searches. Authors who elect to use titles in references should use titles in all references.
  • Endnotes: Authors may include brief asides which appear within the reference section.
  • End Matter: Authors can add up to two pages of appendixes or other content that specialists will want or need to read. This End Matter material will appear after the references. End Matter does not count against the core length limit. (Note that Letters in other Physical Review journals do not have End Matter, but they do use Appendixes. Authors transferring their papers from Physical Review Letters to these other journals should, however, not worry about formatting their articles unless asked by an editor.)

Language Editing Services

All articles in the Physical Review journals are published in American English. APS has partnered with Editage to offer the following Language Editing Author Services:

  • English language editing
  • Translation services
  • Plain language summaries

Author Names

Authors with Chinese, Japanese, or Korean names may choose to have their names published in their native language alongside the English versions of their names in the author list of their publications. See Information About Author Names for details on how to prepare your manuscript.

Accessibility Requirements

APS complies with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, which make online content accessible to the broadest readership possible. Articles published online should meet the following guidelines:

  • Clear and easy-to-read figures in accessible color palettes
  • Use of words or symbols (instead of color) to provide meaning
  • Descriptive links

Supplemental Material

Supplemental Material is useful information that is not essential to understanding an article’s main results, such as

  • Multimedia files
  • Parameters used in or produced by calculations
  • Details of sample preparation
  • Derivations of equations

Refer to the following guidelines when preparing Supplemental Material:

Content

A paper must stand on its own and be understandable and convincing without Supplemental Material. Editors may ask you to incorporate elements of the Supplemental Material into a paper as main text or End Matter. If there is sufficient content, a Joint Submission with one of the Physical Review journals may be warranted. Such Joint Submissions are handled coherently by the two journals (see details on Editorial handling of Joint Submissions).

Referencing Supplemental Material

APS stores all Supplemental Material files for a published paper as a single deposit with a dedicated URL. Authors should cite the Supplemental Material in the paper’s reference list and explain its content as follows:

See Supplemental Material at [URL will be inserted by publisher] for [give brief description of material].

Incorporating references in Supplemental Material

All references cited in the Supplemental Material should be listed in the reference section of the main text.

For editorial policies and more details about preparing and depositing Supplemental Material, see Supplemental Material Instructions.

Joint Submissions

Authors are welcome to submit two or more related or complementary papers to the same journal or to different Physical Review journals. These Joint Submissions enable authors to reach a wider audience and to take advantage of multiple formats across the Physical Review family of journals. For example, you can submit a Letter to Physical Review Letters and a longer Regular Article with more detail to Physical Review C. In all cases, the longer article should present considerably more (or different) information than contained in the abbreviated publication, and it should lead to a substantially improved understanding of the subject. Some duplication of figures, tables, and text material will often be appropriate, but should be limited and must be properly referenced.

The editors coordinate the handling of Joint Submissions, which usually means that they will be reviewed by one or more of the same referees. (See Editorial Supplemental Material or Joint Submission?) If accepted, publication of the two papers will usually also be coordinated. If only one of the papers is accepted for publication, the editors will advise the authors on how to proceed. Authors may, for example, be offered the opportunity to combine the two manuscripts into a single one, or to transfer the short manuscript to a different Physical Review journal as a separate publication.

To ensure your papers are handled as Joint Submissions, please clearly indicate your intention in the Cover Letter of all the relevant submissions.

Cover Letter

The cover letter is an opportunity to explain why the manuscript is appropriate for the journal. It should include the following:

  • Context of the results
  • Summary of key findings
  • Relevant submission history at Physical Review, including another paper that is part of a joint submission
  • Any recommended or excluded referees

Additional Materials

Justification Paragraph

At submission, authors should provide a 100-word compelling justification for why their paper meets Physical Review Letters’s criteria. This paragraph is a way for the authors to communicate directly and succinctly to the editors what they see as the main results, audience, and case for publication of the paper. It can aid in the choice of whether to send the paper out for review, and it can guide the choice of referees (particularly when the paper touches multiple fields).

Data Availability Statements

All published articles must include a Data Availability Statement (DAS) that explains whether and how authors are sharing their data. Authors are asked to enter a complete data availability statement during the submission process, including relevant citations.

See Guidelines for Data Availability Statements in Physical Review.

Appropriate Use of AI Tools

AI tools may be used to assist with aspects of research and manuscript preparation, but AI tools cannot replace authors’ expertise, judgment, or accountability. An AI program cannot be held accountable and cannot be listed as an author. Authors are fully responsible for accuracy and must review and refine all AI-generated content. Moreover, they must disclose in the paper any substantive uses of AI. Prior to submitting a manuscript, authors should review the APS Journals policies on the Appropriate Use of AI Tools, and authors must ensure they comply with the guidelines on use, disclosure, and rights protection.

Peer Review

All APS journals follow the single-anonymized peer review procedures outlined in the Editorial Policies and Practices.

Vetting Letters

Physical Review Letters holds Letters to a very high standard of novelty, importance, interest, and presentation. Submissions that editors deem likely to meet those criteria are sent out for anonymous peer review, generally with some queries and expectations. Referees are chosen to address the various aspects of a paper or to provide a more general perspective. Editors may ask referees to clarify their comments. Editors make decisions based on many factors, including the paper itself, related papers, all of the correspondence, information from the referees, informal advice, and consultation with other editors. In case of rejection, editors generally allow a second round of review, including previous correspondence. However, editors generally do not encourage resubmission unless they think the paper is likely to be accepted.

Comments and Replies

Editors inform authors whether a Comment submission meets Physical Review Letters Comment criteria. If there is more than one Comment on a given Letter, the editor will generally choose a subset of them to consider. If the Comment submission is considered further, the procedure is generally as follows:

  • The Comment submission is sent to the author of the original Letter for their identified remarks. These are then forwarded to the Comment authors with a decision letter.
  • If the Comment authors resubmit, the editor will generally send the Comment submission for anonymous peer review.
  • If the editor determines publication of the Comment is warranted, the authors of the original Letter are generally offered the opportunity to submit a formal Reply, which is then considered. If the Reply is acceptable, it will be published back-to-back with the Comment.

Responding to Referee Reports

These standard tips will help you respond effectively to a referee report.

When resubmitting your paper in response to a positive editorial invitation, check the following to ensure your paper can be quickly prepared for publication if it’s accepted.

  • Equations are accurate.
  • Author names and bylines, Acknowledgment statements, and Author Contribution statements align with Physical Review Policies and Practices.
  • The byline footnote provides the email address of the post-publication contact author (or authors), as follows: *Contact author: author@email.com.
  • All authors who want to link their ORCID iDs have provided them. When a new paper is submitted, APS provides authors with a link to verify their iDs and associate them with the paper. If you’ve misplaced this link, you can contact the journal to resend it.

Time Frame for Resubmission

Resubmitting your article as soon as possible ensures the timely sharing of your results. The recommended time frame for submission is three to four weeks, but articles requiring more extensive revisions may take longer.

Resubmit or Transfer Your Paper

The APS portfolio provides many publishing options and welcomes the transfer of a manuscript between journals. If a manuscript is not suitable for publication at a given APS journal, the editors aim to support authors by suggesting another journal or journals, provided a suitable option exists. See the APS Journals policies on Transfers Between Journals to learn how editors determine the recommended transfer journals and what your options are for transfer.

To resubmit or transfer your paper, go to the APS Submission Server.

When resubmitting or transferring your paper, please provide the following:

  • The most recent version of your manuscript without mark-ups or highlights
  • A point-by-point response to the most recent set of peer review reports, if reports were obtained
  • A list of changes you have made since the last submission
  • A PDF version of your manuscript that highlights any changes you have made since the last submission
  • A revised cover letter: If you are transferring your paper in response to an explicit invitation, please be sure to mention the offer in your cover letter.

If you are requesting to add or remove an author from the paper, please see the Editorial Policy and Practice on adding or removing authors.

After Acceptance

Proofreading and Copyediting

APS partners with external vendors to copyedit and format accepted papers according to the APS Journals Style Guide and in collaboration with the relevant journal’s Editorial Team. This service improves the quality of papers by ensuring they are clear and readable, and that they carry the signature Physical Review brand.

Proofs

Authors should expect to see proofs of their manuscript with marked changes within approximately two weeks of acceptance. Proofs are sent to the Corresponding Author, who is responsible for coordinating changes with all authors and directing them to the production vendor.

Proof corrections

The production process generally requires two rounds of proofs; more rounds may be necessary for lengthy papers or papers that deviate significantly from Physical Review style.

Production status

Authors can find the status of their paper on the APS Manuscript Status page. You’ll need your 7-digit Accession Code and the last name of one of the first three authors on the paper.

Common Proof Corrections

The Important Notice to Authors provides essential instructions on how to check your proof. Authors should check the following:

Author names

Are they all present, in the correct order, and spelled correctly?

ORCID iDs

Do the links go to the correct records? To avoid delays, APS does not add ORCIDs to papers after the first set of proofs is returned.

Funder information

Review grant numbers for accuracy.

Equations and tables

APS converts the original source file to XML, which is used to create the online version and the PDF. This conversion works well for most cases, but please check equations and tables carefully.

Post-publication contact author

Ensure there is a byline footnote giving the email address of the author to whom correspondence should be addressed (Contact author: author@email.com).

Post-Publication Corrections and Changes

The journals offer a variety of ways to correct the scientific record after publication, including Corrections and Author Name Changes. Visit the Post Publication section of the Policies and Practices for details.

Promotion and Engagement

APS helps authors promote their work to peers in the research community and to the general public.

Opportunities for Visibility

Author Summaries

To ensure your paper is considered for promotion, consider sending a plain-text, nontechnical summary to explain your results and why they are of interest. See Guidelines for writing and submitting a summary.

Editors’ Suggestions

After consideration of the paper, correspondence, and other content such author summaries, the editors, as a group, pick about one paper in five to highlight as an Editors’ Suggestion. If your paper is chosen as an Editors’ Suggestion, it will appear on the Physical Review Letters homepage and in the online table of contents with an editor’s summary of the result.

Social media

The Physical Review Letters editors share all articles on X (formerly known as Twitter) @PhysRevLett .

Physics Magazine

Physics Magazine provides daily news and commentary about a selection of papers from the Physical Review collection, including those published in Physical Review Letters.

Press Office and Embargo Policy

APS issues a weekly tip sheet for reporters that highlights upcoming newsworthy research from the APS portfolio of journals. Unless otherwise noted, papers submitted to APS journals are not embargoed. Visit this information page about the APS Press Office to find out more about the tip sheet and the APS Embargo Policy.

Publication Charges and Reprints

The APS journals provide authors with an online, web-based interface, SciPris™, to pay for various author charges, including article publication charges, charges for color figures, and reprints. Upon acceptance, authors will receive a unique link to the SciPris™ platform.

Article Publication Charge Pricing

For more information about APCs in the hybrid and fully open-access Physical Review journals, see APC Pricing.

Optional Page Charge for Physical Review Letters

To help defray editorial and production expenses, authors of published Letters may contribute an Optional Page Charge of \$830 (\$310 for a Comment or Reply). Authors are not required to pay this charge to publish in Physical Review Letters under the traditional subscription model. Charges for color figures and reprints are separate from the Optional Page Charge.

Color Figures Charges

Color figures are free for the online version of any article. Authors may also elect to pay to have color figures in print for Physical Review Letters.

  • The charge is US \$1090 for a single color figure in print and \$595 for each additional color figure.
  • Authors should indicate their request for color figures in print upon submission, indicating which figures are intended for color in print.
  • Full payment of the color charges is required before the article is sent to production. If payment is not received within 21 working days, the article is sent to production with the figures designated as color online only,
  • If authors require more time to pay the charges, the article will be held until the anticipated payment date.
  • Any questions or concerns regarding color in print may be directed to payments@aps.org.

Reprints

Reprints are available from Physical Review Letters. Authors can use SciPris™ to order reprints and obtain associated prices. For authors’ convenience and to minimize delay, the SciPris™ platform accepts payment by major credit card. For those who require invoices to make payment, the system offers this option as well. Please note that reprints are created and mailed after the journal issue has been printed.

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