General Physics Seminar 22 October 2004


Opening up the black box called 'Physical Review Letters'

Deniz van Heijnsbergen
Editorial staff PRL, American Physical Society, New York


What happens once you've submitted a manuscript to Physical Review Letters? How are referees chosen for your paper? What factors play a role when the editor makes a decision on the disposition of your paper? How does the editorial office work? How is PRL performing in the new millennium? And what turbulent developments are there in the world of publishing scientific material? These and other questions will be discussed in a one-hour presentation about facts, style, statistics, history, referees, authors and 'hot' papers, which will culminate in a lively debate about the imminent changes in the landscape of scientific publishing.