Editorial Procedures

(Revised February 2011)

Approximately half of the papers published in RMP are invited. Most others are proposed in advance by the authors and encouraged by one of our editors. A very few come in "over the transom" without previous correspondence.

Proposing an Article. We encourage prospective authors to correspond with the editors before submitting an article. Proposals need not be long but should include an outline and a short list of the key citations. We prefer proposals to be submitted via the web (https://authors.aps.org/ESUB/). Be sure to select the appropriate article type (review article, colloquium). We also accept email submissions (rmptex@aps.org), and we ask that you include "Proposal" in the subject line. Please consult Article and Colloquium Guidelines when preparing your proposal.

One-year Deadline. We give commissioned authors one year to write the article, whether invited or encouraged. During this time the agreed-upon topic is considered to be reserved. If the article does not come in on time, we can no longer reserve the topic but are happy to consider late articles as regular submissions.

Length limit. There is a limit of 50 journal pages for regular reviews and 20 journal pages for Colloquia. One journal page equals approximately 1.5 typed single-spaced pages or four figures.

Posting of preprints online. Authors of solicited and encouraged articles are encouraged to distribute or to post their articles electronically for comment, with one of the following notations on the cover, as appropriate:
Submitted to Reviews of Modern Physics
To be submitted to Reviews of Modern Physics

RMP's perceived role as the print journal of record for important advances in physics is not diminished by having early copies of individual articles distributed by other means. Moreover, the journal strives to have its articles readable by a broad audience of physicists and graduate students, and readability can only be enhanced by advance criticism.

Inappropriate submissions. To qualify as a review, an article should survey a field or topic on which many have contributed. The author's own work may be included in this larger context. However, articles focussing primarily upon the author's work belong in the research literature rather than in a review journal.

Refereeing. Submitted reviews or colloquia that meet the length requirements will be referred to an associate editor in an appropriate field for oversight. This is generally the same editor who invited or encouraged the paper. If the paper was not previously commissioned, an initial decision will be made on the timeliness of the topic and breadth of appeal to our readership. The associate editor selects referees, and referee reports are considered as advisory to the associate editor.

Authors can expect to be asked to respond to suggestions and address problems raised by the referees. See What Our Editors Are Looking For. Introductions should read smoothly and be accessible to all readers, including graduate students. Colloquia often undergo several iterations, to ensure that they are clear and accessible.

Editing after Acceptance. Accepted articles are copymarked at the editorial office of RMP and may be further edited at that time. All such changes are subject to the author's approval.