Information for Contributors contains instructions for manuscript preparation. It is published in the first issue of each volume and includes information about:
Manuscripts which report the results of research in nuclear
physics and related fields may be submitted to Physical Review C.
The manuscripts must contain new results and not be in
editorial process at another journal. (For details,
see ``Editorial Policies and Practices of
Physical Review C''.)
Articles published in Physical Review C are grouped under
headings in the table of contents. The headings now used are
as follows:
Nucleon-Nucleon Interaction, Few-Body Systems
Authors should suggest the headings which are most appropriate.
Information relevant to manuscript preparation and to the
editorial process for this journal and other APS journals is
available
on the APS research-journals World Wide Web server at the
URL http://publish.aps.org/. Information is also available
via ftp to
aps.org in the
subdirectories /jrnls, /pacs, /revtex, etc., of the /pub directory. Most
filenames include as an extension a suffix (beginning with a
period), which indicates the nature of the file: .asc (plain
ASCII), .pdf (portable document file, usable with Acrobat),
.ps (PostScript), or .tex (TeX). Most files exist in two or three
versions, distinguished by the suffix. Some specific files are
cited where pertinent below.
Manuscripts
may be submitted by a variety of electronic modes (including
via e-print servers, direct Web upload, and electronic 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
electronic-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 information. [For authors with Web
browsers without support for forms, noninteractive versions of
the submission forms are available via ftp to aps.org in the
/pub/jrnls directory as the sub_prc files (include filename
suffix .asc, .tex, or .ps), or by request to the Editorial Office.]
If you do not use the submission forms noted above, your
submission letter should specify the author to whom
correspondence should be addressed, and give all available communications
information for this individual (postal and electronic-mail addresses,
phone and fax numbers). Please specify journal and section to
which the paper is submitted, and give Physics and Astronomy Classification
Scheme
(PACS) index categories which
are available via the APS Web server and also
via ftp to aps.org. These catagories are used in preparing
the annual subject index.
For detailed information about electronic submissions, see
http://publish.aps.org/ESUB/. Properly prepared electronic submissions are
exempt from publication charges. Those that use APS macro packages may
qualify for the compuscript production program, under which author-supplied
files are converted directly to production format and coding, rather than being
rekeyed for publication. Receipt of an electronic submission will be
acknowledged by email within 24 hours. Copies of the manuscript should not
be sent by conventional mail 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. The figures may be
sent electronically (preferred) or by overnight mail, or review-quality figures
may be sent by fax while the "originals" are sent by conventional or overnight
mail as soon as possible. Refer to the online documentation for more detailed
instructions.
Manuscripts sent by conventional mail should be submitted
in triplicate to the Editor, Physical Review C, 1 Research Road,
Box 9000, Ridge, New York 11961-9000. Manuscripts should be double
spaced (about 6 mm of space between lines) with ample margins, on
white letter-sized paper. Poor copies and unclear or excessive
handwritten inserts are not acceptable.
Hard-copy submissions of manuscripts and figures are not routinely
returned to authors.
Authors should indicate (preferably on initial submittal) if they
want hard copies of the manuscript and/or figures returned
(e.g., when correspondence is sent to the authors during the editorial
process, and/or after a final decision has been made).
A signed APS
copyright-transfer
ASCII,
PostScript,
TeX,
form 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 7 August 2000 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.
The Division of Nuclear Physics of the APS requests that
authors provide a Keyword Abstract. A request will be
mailed to the authors of experimental papers;
the Keyword Abstract should be forwarded to the National
Nuclear Data Center.
Manuscripts should be written in scientific English, in a style
consistent with that of the journal. It is not possible for the
editorial office to undertake extensive corrections of manuscripts,
due to time constraints and the risk that the authors'
meaning might be distorted. Manuscripts requiring extensive
corrections are therefore returned to the authors. For this
reason, authors whose native language is not English are urged to
seek help from a native English speaker.
For
format and style, consult recent issues of this journal, the
Physical Review Style and Notation Guide, and the Fourth
Edition of the AIP Style Manual. The Physical Review
Style and Notation Guide
is available via the APS Web server at the URL
http://publish.aps.org/STYLE/.
Copies can be obtained via
ftp to
aps.org in the /pub/jrnls directory as the style_guidefiles
(include filename suffix .pdf, .ps, or .tex). The
AIP Style Manual may be obtained for $10.00 (prepaid) from
Springer-Verlag P.O. Box 2485, Secaucus, NJ 07096-2485.
When a manuscript is resubmitted, please include a summary of changes made
and a brief response to all recommendations and criticisms. The interactive
resubmission forms available on our Web server may be used for electronic-
mail, Web-upload, and hard-copy transmission of modified manuscripts and
figures. These forms should also be used when a manuscript previously
submitted to one APS journal is resubmitted to another. When resubmitting
electronically, send the complete file for the text if there have been any
changes. Please refer to the online documentation
for more detailed instructions.
If the resubmission is by conventional mail, send four copies of the revised
manuscript (with figures) and include the resubmission form or equivalent
information. For any resubmission, please state whether or not the figures
have been modified, and supply new PostScript-formatted figures or scanner-
reproducible figures if there have been such changes. It is only necessary to
resend the "original" figures if the previous versions
are no longer valid. Please update any other information
(e.g., address and communication information) that
has changed or will change since initial submission.
The writing of the title deserves special care. It should
convey the greatest amount of information in the smallest
number of words. Words that do not carry information, such
as ``The'', ``A'', ``On'', ``Investigation of'',
``Study of'', should be omitted. For manuscripts submitted to the
Comments section, ``Comment on'' followed by the title of
the paper to which the Comment refers is, however, good
practice. Do not use in the title words that praise the quality
of the work (precise, important, accurate), the name of the
accelerator or type of detector used, names of people or
places, coined words or acronyms,
``More about'', ``revisited'', or dangling
participles (using). Do not use
serial numbers in titles unless the number is followed by a
specific title, such as ``Inelastic scattering of protons. IV.
Coupled channels analyses.'' If you wish to use a serial
number, please provide information on the other published
articles in the series.
The names of authors may be listed
in any order in the byline
at the beginning of a paper. Authors must be individuals, not
groups or collaborations. The author who submits the paper is
responsible for ensuring that all coauthors have approved the
paper and for checking that the form of each name (e.g., initials
versus full names) is that normally used by the author.
Affiliations of authors should
be given without abbreviation.
(Use Massachusetts Institute of Technology, not MIT.) Give
the city, state, and zip code for U.S. addresses; add the country
for other addresses. Affiliations must be institutions, not
conferences, collaborations, or temporary meeting places.
If the authors are at different institutions, they may be grouped
by institution with the name of the institution following each
group. If the authors are not grouped by institution, the names
of institutions may be repeated following the appropriate
authors or groups of authors. If this becomes cumbersome, the
names of institutions may be listed following the list of authors.
Each author's name should then be followed by a superscript
number (or numbers) which refers to a similar superscript
number preceding the appropriate institution (or institutions).
Normally, the most concise presentation is preferred.
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.
Footnotes to an author's name which describe the author's
position are not acceptable.
Every paper must have an abstract.
It should be about 5% of the length of the article, but less than
500 words. It
should state all subjects about which new information is
given and the conclusions and results. For experimental
papers it should specify clearly what quantities were
measured, what nuclides were studied at what energies. It
should not contain footnotes, coined words, or acronyms
which are not explained.
Physical Review C tries to follow the recommendations on
symbols and units of the International Union of Pure and
Applied Physics (IUPAP) and of the National Institute of
Standards and Technology. Metric units (preferably SI),
not British units, are used, unless the British unit is
part of the name of an object.
Recommended abbreviations for frequently used terms are
listed below along with some common misuse.
Physical Review C follows the recommendations of the S.U.N.
Commission of IUPAP on the symbols to be used for nuclides
and their states. The nucleon number (mass number) of a
nuclide is shown as a left superscript
().
A right superscript
is used for indicating a state of ionization
The preferred notation for a differential cross section is
,
, i.e., the angle or energy should be shown as an argument.
The derivative notation
is acceptable;
by itself
or is not. The notation or is acceptable
when it refers to a mathematical relationship, such as the
semiempirical mass formula, but not for the characterization of
data, since and are not continuous.
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 cited in text material must be numbered in order
of their first citation, and should appear in a separate double-spaced
list at the end of the text. They should be designated by
on-line Arabic numerals enclosed in square brackets.
Footnotes (for subsidiary remarks, not for references) may be
placed at the bottoms of printed pages. Such footnotes to text
material should be designated by superscript numerals, numbered
consecutively throughout the paper, and placed at the
bottoms of the manuscript pages on which they are cited.
Authors who do not wish to use this option should combine
references and footnotes in a single list, designated by on-line
numerals in square brackets, numbered consecutively in order
of first citation, and placed at the end of the text. References
and footnotes within tables should be designated by superscript
lower-case roman letters and given at the end of the table.
In preparing the list of references for papers submitted to
Physical Review C the author should be guided by the
Physical Review Style and Notation Guide, especially Table I and
the list of Journal Title Abbreviations, and by the corresponding
material in the AIP Style Manual. The following describes the
practices of Physical Review C:
(in press) means that the paper has been accepted for
publication in a journal (or a conference proceedings).
The name of the journal must be specified. If the paper
has been published when the author receives the proofs,
the reference should be updated in proof.
(submitted or to be submitted) means that the paper has
been submitted or will shortly be submitted for publication.
The name of the journal, book, or conference
proceedings must be specified.
(unpublished) means that the information is unavailable
in printed form. Ph.D. theses need not be marked (unpublished),
since copies can be purchased.
Conference Proceedings. Name, place, and year of the
conference should be specified. Specify the editors and
publisher if possible. Give page number.
Reports. Give name of laboratory, report number, and
year. Give the title if possible and especially if a report
number is not available.
Books. Give publisher, year, page number.
Journal references. Phys. Rev. C 20, 195 (1979).
Nucl. Phys. A249, 253 (1978). (Note difference.) For Annals
of Physics use Ann. Phys. (N.Y.).
(private communication) means that the information is
not available either in published or report form and
acknowledges the receipt of information from another
source. References to private communications in which
the name of one of the authors appears are not acceptable.
It is important to confirm the accuracy of bibliographic information
in references. This has become more important now that the
journal is online; establishing functional hyperlinks from reference
lists to bibliographic and document databases depends on the accuracy
of the data contained in the anchor reference.
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.
Acknowledgments of support must be placed in an
acknowledgments paragraph at the end of the text of a manuscript.
Not all types of acknowledgments are appropriate for the
Physical Review. We do not include acknowledgments to those
who helped in the preparation of the document being published;
to referees or editors (unless they were involved before the
paper was first written); to those who contributed general
encouragement (family, friends) or services which were not
directly part of the research. References to positions, titles, and
awards are inappropriate as are dates associated with awards.
Examples of suitable acknowledgments are thanks to other
scientists for scientific guidance given in discussions or by the
communication of results, mention of technical assistants who
helped in the actual research, and citation of funding agencies
which sponsored the work. Acknowledgments should be a
simple statement of thanks for help and may not be a dedication
or memorial. Acknowledgments to people should precede
those of financial support.
Separate tables (numbered in the order of their appearance)
should be used for all but the simplest tabular material; they
should have captions that make the tables intelligible without
reference to the text. Units should be given in the column
headings. 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 experimental results are
likely to be used as reference values by other authors, the
publication of the numbers is desirable.
Material more extensive than is appropriate for the journal
article, or of special
types (e.g., color figures, multimedia, program files)
may be deposited in the
Electronic Physics Auxiliary Publication Service (EPAPS) of the American
Institute of Physics; information regarding EPAPS is available on our Web
server.
If additional numerical
data can be obtained from a data center, from the author,
or another source, either as tables or in electronic form,
indicate how and in what format they can be obtained.
Figures should be planned for the column width (8.6 cm or 3 3/8 in.) of the
journal. If the detail shown requires it, 1.5 or 2 columns may be used.
A note
should be left on or with such figures. Final-journal-size
originals or prints are
preferable to oversized originals. Authors are encouraged to submit all figures
electronically, even if the text of the manuscript is not submitted
electronically;
refer to the online instructions for more details. Figures submitted on paper
should be of high quality and suitable for digital scanning,
which is done at 600
or 1200 dpi depending on the level of detail; original ink drawings or glossy
prints are acceptable. Be advised that the scanner reproduces all imperfections
(e.g., correction fluid, tape, smudges, writing
on the back of the figure, etc.).
All figures must be prepared so that the details can be seen after reproduction.
They must have a clear background and unbroken lines with as much black-
white contrast as possible. The symbol width and lettering height
on the journal
page should be at least 2 mm. Avoid small open symbols that tend to fill in,
small dots and decimal points, and shading or cross-hatching that is not coarse
enough to withstand reproduction. Curves should be smooth; curves and lines
should have consistent line widths of sufficient weight [final weight
of at least
0.18 mm (0.5 point)]. The resolution of the drawing software and output device
should be set as high as possible (preferably 600 dpi or higher).
Figures should be numbered in the order in which they are referred to in the
text. They should be identified on the front (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. Each figure must have a caption that makes the figure
intelligible without reference to the text; list captions on a separate sheet.
Text should be placed in the caption, not on the figure.
Groups of figures that share
a (single) caption must be labeled "(a), (b)," etc.
The figure itself should have
properly labeled axes with correctly abbreviated units enclosed in parentheses.
Use consistent lettering and style as in the body of the text (correct
capitalization, unslashed zeros, proper exponential notation, superscripts and
subscripts, decimal points instead of commas, etc.).
Use the form R (10³ Omega),
not R×10³ Omega. Use half spacing within compound units,
not hyphens or periods.
Avoid ambiguous usage of the solidus ("/"), e.g., (mb/MeV sr), not
(mb/MeV/sr). When possible, integer numbers should be used on the axis scales
of figures, e.g., 1, 2, 3, or 0, 5, 10, not 1.58, 3.16, 4.75.
Decimal points must
be on the line (not above it); do not use commas instead. Use the same number
of digits to the right of the decimal point for all numbers on the axis scales.
A number must be both before and behind the decimal point, e.g., 0.2, not .2.
For complete instructions see the
Physical Review Style and Notation Guide or the
AIP Style Manual.
Avoid submitting prescreened prints of photographic material or laser-printed
renditions of continuous-tone data; reproduction of such figures is seldom
satisfactory and there is a risk of moiré patterns
appearing in the final product.
If PostScript files are not available, supply glossy or
matte-finish photographs or
laser prints at the highest resolution possible and in the final published size.
Some figures might be more effective
in color. This option is
available; price schedules
can be obtained from our Web server.
The cost of publishing illustrations in color,
which may be significant,
must be borne in full by the respective authors and their
institutions. Authors who wish to avail themselves of this
option should provide 35-mm slides or transparencies, or high-quality
glossy prints, which should be close to the final size
expected for publication. (Negatives are not acceptable.)
Polaroid color prints should be avoided. Artwork must be flexible.
If submitting slides, please note that they will be removed from
their jackets for the color separator. In some cases, printing
requirements will prevent color figures from being located in
the most preferred position.
To alert readers of monochrome reproductions of the article that the
archive figure is in color, begin the caption with ``(Color)''.
When submitting electronic figures containing color, please state
clearly whether
the figures are to be printed in color or monochrome.
In the absence of such a
statement, the referee may receive a monochrome version of a figure for which
color is intended (or vice versa), resulting in confusion and delay.
Be advised that production of an editorially accepted paper that contains
color can begin only after a properly completed color-illustration
authorization form has been received from the authors.
The detail in some figures (such as continuous-tone photographs or color
figures) is lost on photocopying. Therefore, duplicate sets of the
originals of such figures must be attached to each copy of the manuscript
to aid the reviewers.
The relation of the paper to previously
published work should
be explained clearly. This should include the work of other
authors and previously published work of the present authors,
including meeting abstracts and conference reports. If the
present results correct, supplement, or supersede previous
results, this should be stated. (Preprints and internal laboratory
reports are not considered publications.) Indicate which results
are new, as distinguished from results obtained previously.
In order to reproduce figures, tables, etc., from another
journal, authors must show that they have complied with the
requirements of the publisher of the other journal, possibly
including written agreement of both "http://prc.aps.org/publisher and author of the
originally published work. (If the original journal is published
by APS, only the written agreement of the original author is
required to reproduce a few figures or tables.
Enough information about the apparatus and methods should
be presented to permit evaluation of the procedure. For
example, for a scattering experiment, give relevant
dimensions, target thickness and composition, energy resolution,
and angular resolution. If an accelerator was used, it should
be identified.
Nuclear Structure
Nuclear Reactions
Relativistic Nuclear Collisions
Hadronic Physics and QCD
Electroweak Interaction, Symmetries
Nuclear Astrophysics
() or an excited
state (). A right subscript is used for indicating the
number of atoms in a molecule (). For bombarding particles,
,
and
may be used, but not
. For other
bombarding particles, only the usual symbols
should be used. For target nuclides, use
. Do not use D, T, .
et al. The use of et al. (no comma before et) is
encouraged in the body of the paper, but discouraged in the
references. The names of all authors should be given in
the references, unless the number of authors is greater than ten.