Information for Contributors contains instructions for manuscript preparation and is published in the first issue of each volume and includes information about:
Manuscripts may be submitted by a variety of electronic
modes (including via e-print servers, direct Web upload, and e-mail), or
by conventional
mail, but not by fax.
Interactive submission forms, available on our Web server, are an
integral part of the submission process for the e-print and Web modes, and are
strongly recommended for e-mail and conventional-mail submission. These
forms aid authors in supplying all the information needed in a structured
format which furthers efficient processing; they also provide a location
for additional ``free form'' information. [For authors without Web browsers
which support forms, noninteractive versions of the submission forms are
available via ftp to aps.org in the /pub/jrnls directory as the sub_pra files
(include filename suffix .asc, .tex, or .ps), or by request to the Editorial
Office.]
Please specify the author to whom correspondence should be addressed, and
give all available communications information for this individual (postal
and e-mail addresses, phone and fax numbers), since in various circumstances
they may all be useful. Please specify journal and section to which the
paper is submitted, and give
PACS (Physics and Astronomy Classification Scheme)
index categories if possible. (The scheme is available
on our Web server, and also
via ftp to
aps.org as the file pacs_99.asc in the /pub/pacs directory.
If an important subject of
your paper cannot be appropriately classified in the PACS
scheme, please give an appropriate keyword or phrase, and
indicate approximately where in the scheme this topic would be
best placed.
A signed APS copyright-transfer form
(available in plain text, PostScript or
TeX format here)
should be included with
the submission, and will be required before publication. While
the transfer of copyright takes effect only upon acceptance of the
paper for publication in an APS journal, supplying the form
initially can prevent unnecessary delays. The form appears at the
end of the 17 August 1998 issue of Physical Review Letters
and is available
from the Editorial Office,
on the World Wide Web via the URL http://publish.aps.org/
or via ftp to aps.org in the /pub/jrnls
directory as the copy_trnsfr files (include filename suffix .asc, .ps,
or .tex). Be sure to use the latest (1/96 or later) version of the form.
Manuscripts and figures are not routinely returned to authors.
Authors should indicate (preferably on initial submittal) if they
want the manuscript and/or figures returned when correspondence
is sent during the editorial process, and/or after a final decision has
been made.
Electronic submissions may be formatted in REVTeX (preferred),
LaTeX, Harvmac, or Plain TeX. The file must be in ASCII containing no
control codes, with line lengths of 80 characters or less. All textual
material of the paper (including tables, captions, etc.) should be in
electronic form, as a single file. The file should produce double-spaced
output. Properly prepared electronic submissions are eligible for a
publication-charge discount, whether or not they also qualify
for the compuscript-conversion production program. See paragraph
beginning with ``compuscripts'' (below).
For information about submission via e-print servers or direct
Web upload, see our Web server at http://publish.aps.org/ESUB/.
Electronic-mail submissions (and inquiries about them) should be
sent to the Internet address pratex@aps.org.
For the initial submission, use as the subject ``submit'' followed by
the three-letter abbreviation for the
name of the journal (pra) and the last name
of the first author; for example, ``submit pra jones'' or ``submit PRA
Jones.'' Include the filled-out submission form (or the equivalent
information, including journal, section, postal address, etc.) in the
first part of the electronic-mail message. Receipt of an electronic-mail
submission will be acknowledged within 24 hours. Copies of the manuscript
should not be sent by regular mail (only original figures) unless the
electronic transmission has not been successful.
Figures for an electronic submission must be received in at
least review-quality form before editorial processing can begin.
Web upload or electronic-mail transmission (one figure per file)
of PostScript-formatted figures will normally meet this need. For
color or continuous-tone PostScript figures, hard-copy originals are
also required. The originals are needed to ensure that the reproductions
created from the electronic figure files are satisfactory. For e-mail
transmission, use a subject line similar to that for the text file with
the addition of the figure number, e.g., ``submit pra jones fig1''.)
Alternatively, you could send scanner-reproducible journal-quality ``originals''
immediately by overnight mail. A third possibility is to send review-quality
figures by fax (516-591-4141), while the ``originals'' are sent by
conventional or overnight mail as soon as possible; please mark the
fax transmission as being part of an electronic-mail submission. On
resubmission, it is only necessary to resend your figures if the originals
in our file are no longer valid.
Manuscripts sent by conventional mail should be submitted in
quadruplicate to the Editors, Physical Review, 1 Research Road,
Box 9000, Ridge, NY 11961-9000. The manuscript, including the
abstract, references, and captions, should be printed in
English, on good letter size (e.g., 8½ x 11 in.
or A4) white paper with
ample margins. (The first copy, used for production purposes if
the paper is accepted for publication, must be printed on one side
of the paper only; additional copies, used for review purposes, may
be printed on both sides of the paper.) The type size and line spacing
should be sufficient to accommodate editorial markings and
should be legible to our keyboarders (no more than three lines per
inch and no more than 88 characters per 6 inches). It should be
carefully proofread by the author. Poor reproductions are
unacceptable, as are unclear or excessive handwritten insertions.
Compuscripts are author-supplied computer files that can be
used for production essentially as supplied. (Some minor
style modifications may be made if needed.) If the paper is
accepted for publicaiton, the file is converted to production format
and coding (eventually SGML), from which base the journal pages are
composed. Appropriate REVTeX files are eligible (the other
electronic-submission formats are only useful for the editorial-review
process). Questions about the file eligibility should be directed
to pratex@aps.org. Papers intended for the compuscript production
program should be submitted and resubmitted only electronically.
PostScript figures may be used directly (electronically) in the production
composition process.
REVTeX is APS's LaTeX macro package used to produce
compuscript files with the standard structure and coding needed for
our journals. The REVTeX software (macros, examples, and documentation)
is available via ftp to aps.org in the /pub/revtex directory. For
further information on REVTeX, inquire by electronic mail to mis@aps.org.
An information and instruction booklet regarding electronic submissions
and compuscripts is available via ftp to aps.org in the /pub/jrnls/
directory as the compu_inform_pr files (include filename suffix .asc,
.ps, or .tex).
For resubmissions, the interactive resubmission forms available
on our Web server may be used for email, web-based-upload, and hard-copy
transmission of modified manuscripts. These forms should also be used
when a manuscript previously submitted to one APS journal is being
submitted in modified form to another one (typically a former Physical
Review Letters submission being submitted to Physical Review).
Resubmissions from the e-print archives are not yet supported. If you
do not use the forms, please include a summary of changes made and a
brief response to
all recommendations and criticisms; state whether or not the figures have
been modified, and supply new PostScript or scanner-reproducible figures
if there have been such changes; and update any other information
(e.g., address and communication information) that has changed since initial
submission.
If the manuscript was originally submitted electronically, please avoid
resubmission by conventional means (paper, postal mail); continue to use
one of the electronic modes. When resubmitting electronically,
please send the complete file for the text if there have been any changes.
Send email resubmissions to pratex@aps.org, and use as the subject of the
message ``resub'' followed by the manuscript code number and the last
name of the first author; for example, ``resub AB1234 Smith'' or
``resub ab1234 smith.'' Include the filled-out resubmission
form (or equivalent information as described above) as the first part of
the message. For resubmission by conventional mail, please send
four copies of a complete modified manuscript, and include the form
or equivalent information.
For general format and style consult recent issues of this journal
and the Physical Review Style and Notation Guide, available via
ftp to aps.org in the /pub/jrnls directory as the style_guidefiles
(include filename suffix .pdf, .ps, or .tex). Additional style guidelines
can be found in the Fourth Edition of the AIP Style Manual,
which may be obtained for $10.00 (prepaid) from Springer-Verlag,
P.O. Box 2485, Secaucus, NJ 07096-2485.
Readability of the journal is an important consideration. Authors
are urged to take special care in assuring that their manuscripts are
well-organized and clearly written in good scientific English.
Accessibility of papers is a matter of
significant concern,
and at least the abstract and introduction of each article
should be written so as to be understandable by a broad spectrum
of readers.
The title should be concise but informative enough to facilitate
information retrieval. The abstract should be self-contained
(contain no footnotes). It should be adequate as an index
(giving all subjects, major and minor, about which new information
is given) and as a summary (giving the conclusions and
all results of general interest in the article). It should be about
5% of the length of the article, but less than 500 words.
Notation should be clear, compact, and consistent with standard
usage. Equations
should be neatly formatted, punctuated, and
aligned to bring out their structure, and numbered on the right.
(a) Diacritical marks (tildes, etc.) can be put over any symbol,
including indices. (b) Three-vectors are generally
set in roman boldface type.
More general vectors, matrices, etc.,
are usually set in lightface italic type, although boldface may
alternatively be used.
(c) Be careful when using the solidus (/) in fractions. For
example,
1/2a means 1/(2a) not (1/2)a. Use
appropriate bracketing if needed to ensure clarity.
References and footnotes to text material must be combined in
a single list, numbered consecutively in their order of first appearance
in the paper, and placed in a double-spaced list at the end of
the text material. They should be designated and cited in text by
on-line Arabic numerals in square brackets. As an option, footnotes
may appear separately from references and be placed at
the bottom of the page on which they are cited. They should be
designated by superscript numbers and numbered consecutively
throughout the paper. Footnotes within tables should be
designated by lower-case letter superscripts and given at the
end of the table.
For the proper form for references, see the
Physical Review Style and Notation Guide and recent issues of
this journal. The names of all authors of works cited should be
given in the references, unless the number of authors is greater than
three; in this case, the first author's name followed by et al.
is allowed. When reference is made to internal reports or other
items not available in the open literature, it is the responsibility of
the author to provide sufficient information to enable the reader
to obtain a copy of the referenced material. References to classified
reports or other documents with restricted circulation should
be avoided.
It is important to confirm the accuracy of bibliographic information
in references. This has become more important now that the journal
is online. Hyperlinks will be programmed to enable readers to
``click'' on references and jump directly to the material cited.
If your reference citations are incorrect or incomplete (e.g.,
missing author name, or an incorrect volume number or page), the
associated hyperlinks may fail, and the usefulness of your paper
in the online environment may be diminished.
Since at the present time such links work only from the reference
section, work cited anywhere in the paper, including in figure
and table captions and in ``Note(s) added,'' should be included
in the reference section.
Footnotes to an author's name or address should be limited to
those useful for location of, or communication with,
an author. Footnotes giving electronic
addresses (e.g., email, fax, or Web) of a corresponding author are
encouraged. All
information concerning research support should appear in the
acknowledgments.
Separate tables (numbered in the order of their first appearance)
should be used for all but the simplest tabular material;
they must have captions, which should make the tables intelligible
without reference to the text. The structure should be
clear, with simple column headings giving all units.
The decision on whether results should be published in long
tables depends on the precision of the data, i.e., whether they
can be read accurately enough from a figure, and on how many
readers are likely to use the numbers relative to the space
needed in the journal. If additional numerical data can be
obtained from a data center, from the author, or from another
source either as tables or on tape, indicate how and in what
format they can be obtained.
Figures should be planned for the column width of the Physical
Review (approximately 8.6 cm, or 3 3/8 in.). In some
cases where the
figures contain a great deal of detail, 1 ½ or 2 columns may
be used. Wasted space at the top and bottom should be avoided.
Carefully prepared figures, suitable for digital scanning, are required
(original India-ink drawings or glossy prints; computer-generated
figures, if of sufficient quality, are acceptable). Figures
must have a clear background and unbroken lines
with as much black-white contrast as possible.
Final-journal-size originals or prints are preferable to
oversized originals. Avoid small open symbols which
tend to fill in upon reproduction, small dots and decimal points,
and shading or cross-hatching that is not coarse enough to
withstand reproduction.
The lettering and plotted points on the figures should
be large and clear enough that they will be legible
on the journal pages (final journal size of lettering should
be at least 2 mm).
Inconsistently large or too heavy lettering should be avoided.
Line weights should be consistent throughout a figure, with
a final line weight of at least 0.18 mm (0.5 point).
Figures reproduced directly from an automatic plotter
or computer printer must have lettering of the correct size
and style (e.g., MeV instead of MEV, unslashed zeros)
and curves that are smooth and of
sufficient line weight to allow suitable reproduction.
The resolution of the drawing software and the output device
should be set as high as possible (preferably 600 dpi or higher).
Very fine lines in laser-generated illustrations will disappear
under scanning. Photographs of apparatus are unacceptable and
should be replaced by good schematic diagrams.
Photographic (continuous tone) material
is screened (``halftoned'')
within our production process. Avoid submitting prescreened prints
of photographic material; reproduction of such figures is then seldom
satisfactory. There is a risk of moiré patterns appearing in the final
product. Laser-printer renditions of continuous-tone data are
similarly problematic, since they are effectively prescreened. Please
submit such figures electronically as PostScript files (one image
per file). There are greater possibilities for successful reproduction
in the journal when these data are processed directly rather than via
scanning of hard-copy renditions. Alternatively, supply glossy
or matte-finish photographs instead, if available.
Otherwise, choose the highest resolution possible and laser print the
figure at its final published size.
Figures should be numbered in the order in which they are cited
in the text. The original figures,
as well as the copies supplied for review purposes, should be
identified on the front (well outside the image area)
by the number, the name of the first author, and the journal.
An indication, e.g., ``TOP'' of the intended orientation of a figure
is helpful, especially in ambiguous cases. Be advised that the scanner
reproduces all flaws (e.g., correction fluid, tape, smudges,
writing on the back of the figure). Each figure must have its
own caption; list captions on a separate sheet. Groups of figures
that share a common (single) caption must be labeled ``(a), (b), (c),''
etc. It is preferable that all parts of a figure be submitted as a
single piece. The figure should have properly labeled axes with
correctly abbreviated units.
Use the form
R (10³ Omega), not R × 10³ ohms. For
complete instructions see the Physical Review Style and
Notation Guide and the AIP Style Manual.