Aims and Scope

Details

Published on 25 May 2012

Hadron Physics

• Hadron Structure
• Hadron Spectroscopy
• Hadronic and Electroweak Interactions of Hadrons
• Nonperturbative Approaches to QCD
• Phenomenological Approaches to Hadron Physics

Nuclear and Quark Matter

• Heavy-Ion Collisions
• Phase Diagram of the Strong Interaction
• Hard Probes
• Quark-Gluon Plasma and Hadronic Matter
• Relativistic Transport and Hydrodynamics
• Compact Stars

Nuclear Physics

• Nuclear Structure and Reactions
• Few-Body Systems
• Radioactive Beams
• Electroweak Interactions
• Nuclear Astrophysics

Article Categories

Letters:

Letters must describe new and original work deserving rapid publication. Their aim is to concisely report on important theoretical, computational or experimental results or on sufficiently substantiated concepts, with a significant (potential) impact on the broader development in one of the fields covered by the journal. In order to allow a rapid refereeing and decision procedure and to better address a broad readership, Letters should not exceed 4 printed pages in EPJ A format, and should include no more than 4 figures and/or tables.

Invited Viewpoints and Perspectives:

Are by invitation only and serve the purpose of initiating targeted, high-level discussions on open scientific issues, or on more speculative but truly innovative and promising ideas for the future development of the field. Their format style is similar to that of regular Letters. While external proposals for new, and comments on previously published Invited Viewpoints and Perspectives are possible, the decision to act on them rests solely with the editors in charge of this section.

Regular Articles:

Describe original work, or provide details of original work previously published in a Letter article. While there is no a priori limitation to the size of a manuscript, the appropriateness of its level of detail, as well as its general readability, form part of the initial assessment process. Regular articles also include any technical papers presenting original and novel developments, e.g., in particle detection, computational tools, machine learning or other analysis methods, provided direct relevance to physics topics within the journal’s aims-and-scope can be demonstrated. Further, regular articles may take the form of suitably fleshed-out internal notes of experimental collaborations, detailing specific aspects of importance for understanding and assessing the physics results presented in full collaboration papers.

Reviews:

Are by invitation only through the Editorial Board. There is no general limit to the overall length. Reviews may contain, but should not be restricted to, original work. Reviews, when addressing also non-specialist audiences, will benefit from a sufficient amount of introductory resp. background material in order to strengthen their pedagogical aspects. Reviews will fall into one of the following categories:

1) Comprehensive reviews of major topics within the "Aims and Scope" of EPJA. Their primary assets will be pedagogical exposition, synthesis of key developments, and the inclusion of a definitive and representative bibliography.

2) Technical papers presenting an extensive review of a specialist topic within the "Aims and Scope".

3) Reviews of a newly emerging field, providing an up-to-date synthesis and an extended discussion of the open questions. The discussion is expected to lead to an assessment of the possible further developments within the field, potentially making a substantial contribution to guiding decisions concerning the planning or running of experimental and observational facilities.

4) Outstanding theses, working reports or white papers, where both the importance and relevance of details justify the exceptional publication of the full length work.

Code Papers:

While EPJ A does not publish computer codes per se it encourages the submission of papers, where a computer code is an essential part of the described original work, provided the underlying physics is by itself of sufficient novelty and relevance to be considered for the journal. A further prerequisite is that the relevant code itself has already been deposited in a relevant DOI-minting repository, with enough details provided for its actual testing and benchmarking. The code must be clearly referenced in the submitted paper via DOI and any version numbering where applicable. Similarly, new versions of previously released code can only be considered if they are directly connected to a similar, significant advance in the treatment of the underlying physics compared to the published literature.

Referees appointed to assess relevant submissions will then be pointed to the code and be asked to perform tests of usability and reproducibility as part of the refereeing procedure. Any accepted paper will be considered as having documented sufficient evidence for the related code meeting its intended purposes in the general sense of refereeing and approving scientific material. In particular, clear instructions on how to download and install the program, as well as a simple use case, are expected to be provided both in the published source code (e.g. in a README file) and in the article. The L^AT_EX templates of EPJA contain a section “Program Summary and Specifications” which must be activated to provide some very specific information about the code in the introductory section of the paper and to signal to the editorial board of the journal that some (novel) code is to be associated with the results presented.

Comments and Replies:

Comments and Replies include discussion and commentary addressing significant aspects of the original paper but without a) representing essentially new papers, b) delving into too much detail, or c) becoming personal. They should address non-trivial aspects that will interest readers other than the authors of the comment and the original paper. They should not exceed two printed pages in the EPJ format and should not include an abstract.

Aims and Scope

Details

Published on 12 June 2012

The scope of EPJB spans the fields of Condensed Matter, Quantum Materials and Low-Dimensional Systems, as well as Statistical Physics, Nonlinear Dynamics and Complex Systems. A non-exhaustive list of subtopics in each field is given below. We welcome submissions of original research papers, either theoretical and/or experimental.

The aim of the journal is to report new physical discoveries via any of these approaches. Manuscripts that limit themselves to reporting results without advancing our fundamental understanding of physics will not be considered for publication. Papers clearly on the applied physics side will not be considered and may be directed to EPJ Applied Physics (EPJAP) or EPJ Plus. Likewise, manuscripts reporting results on complex systems without a relation to physics may be redirected to EPJ Data Science (EPJDS).

Condensed Matter

• Topological phases of matter
• Quantum materials
• Quantum Devices and Quantum Physics
• Graphene-based and other low-dimensional carbon-based materials
• Ultracold atoms and quantum simulations
• Lattice and electronic structure and dynamics of solids
• Strongly correlated system
• Low-dimensional, mesoscopic and nanoscale systems
• Physics in surfaces, interfaces, and low dimensional systems
• Quantum spin systems and frustrated magnetism
• Spintronics and spin-dependent transport
• Superconductivity
• Disordered and glassy systems
• Physical insight from Ab-Initio Calculations
• Nanoscale and mesoscopic systems

Statistical and Non-Linear Physics

• Statistical mechanics and thermodynamics
• Chaos and nonlinear dynamical systems
• Collective dynamics and self-organization
• Fluctuation phenomena and stochastic processes
• Phase transitions and critical phenomena
• Complex systems
• Network science and social networks
• Social physics and econophysics
• Climate impact research
• Higher-order interactions and crowd behaviour
• Machine learning applications
• Epidemic spreading and vaccination
• Language dynamics and culturomics
• Smart cities and spatial networks
• Ecological systems
• Tipping points

Article Categories

• Research Articles
• Colloquia
• Topical Reviews
• Roadmap Articles
• Perspective Articles

Research Articles contain complete and comprehensive report of original research.

Colloquia describe the development of new areas of research or the impact of new and promising experimental or theoretical methods in the fields that are within the spectrum of topics covered by the respective journals. While not as extensive and complete as reviews in the usual sense, they are intended to suitably introduce new research directions and techniques in their early stages of development, and to a wider audience. There is no explicit constraint regarding the length of such manuscripts, although 20 printed pages would be the most usual length. All invited/submitted manuscripts will undergo the same refereeing procedure as all other contributions submitted to the journal. For invited colloquium papers, authors will receive a honorarium of EUR 400,-- upon publication. Colloquium papers are generally solicited by the journal editors. Authors wishing to submit a colloquium paper are advised to contact the Editors-in-Chief.

Topical Reviews provide a comprehensive and extensive summary of recent research results in a field that is within the spectrum of topics covered by EPJ B and are of current interest to a broader audience. A topical review should aim to summarize the pertinent experimental, theoretical, and computational results obtained by the key research groups working in the field in the past 10 years. Historical reviews of an entire sub-field of physics are discouraged. There is no explicit constraint regarding the length of such manuscripts, although 35 printed pages would be the most usual length. All invited/submitted manuscripts will undergo the same refereeing procedure as all other contributions submitted to the journal. For invited topical review papers, authors will receive a honorarium of EUR 400,-- upon publication. Topical review papers are generally solicited by the journal editors. Authors wishing to submit a topical review paper are advised to contact the Editors-in-Chief.

Roadmap Articles are a type of collaborative review papers where a group of authors outlines recent developments and new direction in a specific field. Roadmap papers are structured in multiple sections, each written by different authors. Roadmap authors can send an inquire to the editorial office providing tentative tile, abstract and authors list.

The Perspective Article type denotes a scholarly review and discussion of primary research that does not meet the criteria for a review. This could be because the scope is too narrow, or because the piece is intended to provoke a discussion of a controversial position, speculative hypothesis, or alternative interpretations of existing work.

Aims and Scope

Details

Published on 12 June 2012

The European Physical Journal C (EPJ C) presents new and original research results in theoretical physics and experimental physics, in a variety of formats, including Regular Articles, Reviews and Letters. The range of topics is extensive:

Experimental Physics I: Accelerator Based High-Energy Physics

• Hadron and lepton collider physics
• Lepton-nucleon scattering
• High-energy nuclear reactions
• Standard model precision tests
• Search for new physics beyond the standard model
• Heavy flavour physics
• Neutrino properties
• Particle detector developments
• Computational methods and analysis tools

Experimental Physics II: Astroparticle Physics

• Dark matter searches
• High-energy cosmic rays
• Double beta decay
• Long baseline neutrino experiments
• Neutrino astronomy
• Axions and other weakly interacting light particles
• Gravitational waves and observational cosmology
• Particle detector developments
• Computational methods and analysis tools

Computing, Software and Data Science

• Machine learning and data science techniques
• Statistical methods for data analysis and interpretation
• Software for theoretical calculations and physics event generation
• Detector simulation and modelling of detector response
• Online/offline data reconstruction and filtering
• Software integration and benchmarking
• Frameworks and heterogenous computing
• Computing middleware developments
• High-throughput and high-performance computing
• Applications of quantum computing

Theoretical Physics I: Phenomenology of the Standard Model and Beyond

• Electroweak interactions
• Quantum chromo dynamics
• Heavy quark physics and quark flavour mixing
• Neutrino physics
• Phenomenology of astro- and cosmoparticle physics
• Meson spectroscopy and non-perturbative QCD
• Low-energy effective field theories
• Lattice field theory
• High temperature QCD and heavy ion physics
• Phenomenology of supersymmetric extensions of the SM
• Phenomenology of non-supersymmetric extensions of the SM
• Model building and alternative models of electroweak symmetry breaking
• Flavour physics beyond the SM
• Computational Algorithms and Tools

Theoretical Physics II: Astroparticle Physics and Cosmology - Models and Phenomenology

• Theories of gravity
• Cosmology and the early universe
• Black hole (astro)physics
• Astroparticle physics
• Gravitational waves

Theoretical Physics III: Quantum Field Theory and Gravity - Fundamental and Formal Aspects

• Quantum field theories and High Energy Physics
• Quantum theory of gravitation
• Supergravity and string theory
• Gauge/gravity dualities
• Black hole dynamics
• Mathematical relativity

Article Categories

Letters:

Must describe new and original work deserving rapid publication. Their aim is fast and concise communication of material of current interest:

• an important theoretical, computational or experimental result
• a valuable discussion of, or a short essay on, an open scientific issue
• a valuable presentation of innovative and promising ideas and concepts

in the fields covered by the journal. In order to make a fast refereeing and decision procedure possible, and to address a broad readership, Letters should not exceed 4 printed pages in the EPJ style format, and should contain no more than 4 figures and/or tables.

Regular Articles:

Describe original work, or provide details of original work previously published in a Letter article. While there is no a priori limitation to the size of a manuscript, the appropriateness of its level of detail, as well as its general readability, form part of the initial assessment process. Regular articles also include any technical papers presenting original and novel developments, e.g., in particle detection, computational tools, machine learning or other analysis methods, provided direct relevance to physics topics within the journal’s aims-and-scope can be demonstrated. Further, regular articles may take the form of suitably fleshed-out internal notes of experimental collaborations, detailing specific aspects of importance for understanding and assessing the physics results presented in full collaboration papers.

Reviews:

Are by invitation only through the Editorial Board. There is no general limit to the overall length -- they may contain, but should not be restricted to, original work. Reviews will fall into one of the following categories:

1) Comprehensive reviews of major topics within the "Aims and Scope" of EPJC. Their primary assets will be pedagogical exposition, synthesis of key developments, and the inclusion of a definitive and representative bibliography.

2) Technical papers presenting an extensive review of a specialist topic within the "Aims and Scope".

3) Reviews of a newly emerging field, providing an up-to-date synthesis and an extended discussion of the open questions. The discussion is expected to lead to an assessment of the possible further developments within the field, potentially making a substantial contribution to guiding decisions concerning the planning or running of experimental and observational facilities.

4) Outstanding theses, working reports or white papers, where both the importance and relevance of details justify the exceptional publication of the full length work.

Comments and Replies:

Comments and Replies include discussion and commentary addressing significant aspects of the original paper but without a) representing essentially new papers, b) delving into too much detail, or c) becoming personal. They should address non-trivial aspects that will interest readers other than the authors of the comment and the original paper. They should not exceed two printed pages in the EPJ format and should not include an abstract. Authors should include a cover letter to explain the relevance and general interest of the Comment/Reply.

Aims and Scope

Details

Published on 12 June 2012

The European Physical Journal D is dedicated to the publication of recent and conceptually novel and scientifically rigorous results of research in fundamental physics.

Our journal publishes high-quality research on the fundamental and applied aspects of optical, atomic, molecular, and plasma physics.

The journal welcomes experimental, theoretical, and numerical studies that contribute to the understanding and applications of physical systems.

Areas of interest include, but are not limited to:

1. Photons

• Quantum Photonics
• Quantum Optics and Light-Matter Interaction
• Plasmonics and Nanoplasmonics
• Photonic Systems (Lasers and Nanophotonics)
• Applications in Quantum Technology

2. Atoms, Molecules, Ions, and Clusters

• Structures of Atoms, Small Molecules and their Ions
• Spectroscopy of Atoms, Molecules and their Ions
• Dynamics / Collisional Processes of Atoms, Molecules and Ions
• Physical Processes involving Large Systems: Biomolecules, Clusters, Nanoparticles and Surfaces
• Applications in Quantum Technology

3. Plasmas

• Atomic and Molecular processes in Plasmas
• Plasma diagnostics
• Technological Applications of Process Plasmas
• Astrophysical, Lasers and Fusion Plasmas

Article Categories

• Research Articles
• Colloquia
• Topical Reviews
• Roadmap Articles
• Perspective Articles

Colloquia describe the development of new areas of research or the impact of new and promising experimental or theoretical methods in the fields that are within the spectrum of topics covered by EPJD. While not as extensive and complete as reviews in the usual sense, they are intended to suitably introduce new research directions and techniques in their early stages of development, and to a wider audience. There is no explicit constraint regarding the length of such manuscripts, although 20 printed pages would be the most usual length. All invited/submitted manuscripts will undergo the same refereeing procedure as all other contributions submitted to the journal. For invited colloquium papers, authors will receive a honorarium of EUR 400,-- upon publication. Colloquium papers are generally solicited by the journal editors. Authors wishing to submit a colloquium paper are advised to contact the colloquia and reviews editors.

Topical Reviews provide a comprehensive and extensive summary of recent research results in a field that is within the spectrum of topics covered by EPJ D and are of current interest to a broader audience. A topical review should aim to summarize the pertinent experimental, theoretical, and computational results obtained by the key research groups working in the field in the past 10 years. Historical reviews of an entire sub-field of physics are discouraged. There is no explicit constraint regarding the length of such manuscripts, although 35 printed pages would be the most usual length. All invited/submitted manuscripts will undergo the same refereeing procedure as all other contributions submitted to the journal. For invited topical review papers, authors will receive a honorarium of EUR 400,-- upon publication. Topical review papers are generally solicited by the journal editors. Authors wishing to submit a topical review paper are advised to contact the colloquia and reviews editors.

Roadmap Articles are a type of collaborative review papers where a group of authors outlines recent developments and new direction in a specific field. Roadmap papers are structured in multiple sections, each written by different authors. Roadmap authors can send an inquire to the editorial office providing tentative tile, abstract and authors list.

The Perspective Article type denotes a scholarly review and discussion of primary research that does not meet the criteria for a review. This could be because the scope is too narrow, or because the piece is intended to provoke a discussion of a controversial position, speculative hypothesis, or alternative interpretations of existing work.

Aims and Scope

Details

Published on 12 June 2012

Founded by P.-G. de Gennes.

EPJ E publishes papers describing advances in the understanding of physical aspects of Soft, Liquid and Living Systems.

Soft matter is a generic term for a large group of condensed, often heterogeneous systems -- often also called complex fluids -- that display a large response to weak external perturbations and that possess properties governed by slow internal dynamics.

Flowing matter refers to all systems that can actually flow, from simple to multiphase liquids, from foams to granular matter.

Living matter concerns the new physics that emerges from novel insights into the properties and behaviours of living systems. Furthermore, it aims at developing new concepts and quantitative approaches for the study of biological phenomena. Approaches from soft matter physics and statistical physics play a key role in this research.

The journal includes reports of experimental, computational and theoretical studies and appeals to the broad interdisciplinary communities including physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics and materials science.

Article Categories

• Research Articles
• Tips and Tricks
• Colloquia
• Topical Reviews
• Roadmap Articles
• Perspective Articles

Tips and Tricks (T&T) are short peer-reviewed papers that focus on a novel methodological approach that facilitates new science. These papers may describe experimental, computational, or theoretical tips and tricks. Although T&T papers maybe shorter (recommended length of 5 pages) than normal research papers, they should still provide enough detail such that the reader can readily implement the ideas presented. The standards of scientific quality and rigour will be the same as a for regular papers (control experiments, clear descriptions, comparison to previous methods, statistical analysis, quantitative evaluation if appropriate, etc.). T&T can be submitted regularly through the online system, but please mention in the cover letter if your submission is a T&T paper.

Colloquia describe the development of new areas of research or the impact of new and promising experimental or theoretical methods in the fields that are within the spectrum of topics covered by the respective journals. While not as extensive and complete as reviews in the usual sense, they are intended to suitably introduce new research directions and techniques in their early stages of development, and to a wider audience. There is no explicit constraint regarding the length of such manuscripts, although 20 printed pages would be the most usual length. All invited/submitted manuscripts will undergo the same refereeing procedure as all other contributions submitted to the journal. For invited colloquium papers, authors will receive a honorarium of EUR 400,-- upon publication. Colloquium papers are generally solicited by the journal editors. Authors wishing to submit a colloquium paper are advised to contact the Editorial Office or the Editors-in-Chief.

Topical Reviews provide a comprehensive and extensive summary of recent research results in a field that is within the spectrum of topics covered by EPJ E and are of current interest to a broader audience. A topical review should aim to summarize the pertinent experimental, theoretical, and computational results obtained by the key research groups working in the field in the past 10 years. Historical reviews of an entire sub-field of physics are discouraged. There is no explicit constraint regarding the length of such manuscripts, although 35 printed pages would be the most usual length. All invited/submitted manuscripts will undergo the same refereeing procedure as all other contributions submitted to the journal. For invited topical review papers, authors will receive a honorarium of EUR 400,-- upon publication. Topical review papers are generally solicited by the journal editors. Authors wishing to submit a topical review paper are advised to contact the Editorial Office or the Editors-in-Chief.

Roadmap Articles are a type of collaborative review papers where a group of authors outlines recent developments and new direction in a specific field. Roadmap papers are structured in multiple sections, each written by different authors. Roadmap authors can send an inquire to the editorial office providing tentative tile, abstract and authors list.

The Perspective Article type denotes a scholarly review and discussion of primary research that does not meet the criteria for a review. This could be because the scope is too narrow, or because the piece is intended to provoke a discussion of a controversial position, speculative hypothesis, or alternative interpretations of existing work.

Soft Matter

Polymers and Polyelectrolytes

• Gels, rubbers, networks
• Crystalline, glassy and molten polymers
• Amphiphilic systems

Liquid Crystals

• Thermotropic and lyotropic phases
• Liquid crystalline polymers and elastomers

Self-organised and Supramolecular Assemblies

• Purpose-designed organic molecules
• Hierarchical structures
• Foams, emulsions and dispersions
• Surfactants

Colloids and Nanoparticles

• Colloids and nanoparticles as model systems
• Glasses, aggregates and fragility
• Ferrofluids

Functional Materials and Nanodevices

• Smart materials
• DNA based nanotechnology
• Tuneable, switchable, and addressable properties
• Semiconducting polymers and molecular electronics: structure and morphology

Interfacial Phenomena and Nanostructured Surfaces

• Adhesion and friction
• Soft lithography, materials patterning

Flowing Matter

Liquids and Complex Fluids

• Structure and dynamics of dense liquids
• Viscoelasticity, rheology and rheophysics
• Phase behaviour

Active Fluids

Granular Materials

• Packing and elasticity
• Dynamics, dissipation and flow behavior, slurries
• Transport and jamming

Interfacial Phenomena

• Capillarity, wetting and spreading
• Microfluidics and interfacial flows, foam and emulsions rheology

Nonlinear Physics and Mesoscale Modeling

• Multiscale hydrodynamics
• Non-equilibrium dynamics, instabilities, pattern formation
• Transport processes, multiphase flows
• Turbulence
• Computational fluid dynamics – Lattice Boltzmann methods

Living Systems

Biological Matter

• DNA, RNA and chromatin
• Membranes and vesicles
• Proteins and protein assemblies
• Cytoskeletal filaments and networks

Structure and Function

• Single molecules
• Nanoscale systems
• Molecular machines: Channels, pumps and motors
• Photobiophysics
• Protein folding

Biomimetic Systems

• Reconstituted systems
• Artificial environments, microfluidics, microswimmers
• Synthetic Biology

Cellular Processes

• Cell mechanics and adhesion
• Cell motility and force generation
• Transport and trafficking
• Fluctuations and noise, nonequilibrium processes

Multicellular Systems

• Tissues and organs
• Developmental processes and patterning
• Cell communication and cooperativity
• Sensory systems and neural networks
• Dynamics and self-organization in biological systems
• Collective motions

Biological Networks

• Genetic and protein networks
• Cellular signaling systems
• Population dynamics and evolution
• Robustness and reliability
• Biological information

Aims and Scope

Details

Published on 12 June 2012

Aims:

EPJ AP is a peer-reviewed international journal dedicated to advancing applied physics through high-impact research that translates physical principles into functional technologies and devices. The journal emphasizes the use of experimental and theoretical physics to highlight and understand new physical phenomena, design, and optimize materials, processes, and systems with technological relevance. Cross-cutting topics in applied physics at the interface with biology, chemistry, and environmental science are also welcome as well as physics-informed AI and data-driven approaches in materials development.

We welcome original articles, short communications, and reviews that explore how the application of physics enables breakthroughs in energy applications, information technologies, advanced characterization, and next-generation materials.

Scope:

The journal covers a broad range of topics in applied physics with a strong focus on physical mechanisms that underpin real-world functionality and innovation. Areas of interest include but are not limited to:

• A. Physics for Energy Materials, Transfer, Storage, and Conversion
  • Studies of materials for energy applications
  • Complex and multifunctional systems: composites, high-entropy alloys, hybrid materials
  • Processing and fabrication: thin film deposition, crystal growth, micro/nanofabrication
  • Elucidation of structure–property–performance relationships
  • Physics of energy transfer, harvesting, conversion and storage and corresponding applications (photovoltaics, batteries, fuel cells, thermoelectrics, catalysis, etc.)
• B. Applied Nanomaterials, Nanotechnology & Quantum Phenomena
  • Low-dimensional systems (0D, 1D, 2D), van der Waals heterostructures
  • Thin films and coatings with engineered physical properties
  • Surface and interface phenomena: functionalization, self-assembly, nanopatterning, reactivity
  • Device-oriented physics including:
• Nanoelectronics, optoelectronics, spintronics, plasmonics, photonics, non-linear optics’
• Magnetic and superconducting applications
• Sensors, actuators, and nanobiotechnologies
• Non-linear optics’
• Applied quantum phenomena: quantum transport, light–matter interaction, hybrid systems
• C. Radiation–Matter Interaction and Advanced Characterizations
  • Imaging and diffraction techniques using, e.g., electrons, photons, neutrons
  • Spectroscopies including optical, electronic and vibrational spectroscopies
  • Operando approaches, studies of restructuring phenomena
  • Ion–matter interactions: defect engineering, ion implantation, irradiation-induced modifications
  • Instrumentation, data modeling, and algorithmic advances in characterization
• D. Applied Plasma Physics
  • Plasma generation and diagnostics
  • Plasma–surface interactions and plasma-assisted processes for material synthesis, functionalization, and nanostructuring
  • Modeling and simulation of plasma dynamics and plasma–matter interactions

Aims and Scope

Details

Published on 12 June 2012

EPJ - Special Topics is devoted to the rapid and timely publication of complete topical issues in all fields pertaining to the pure and applied physical sciences. This explicitly includes related fields such as Complex Systems, Physical Biology and Chemistry as well as Materials Sciences.

Individual articles cannot be accepted with the exception of long working reports or other review-type articles of exceptional length filling a complete issue.

Topical issues may consist of a selection of refereed articles from a focused workshop or topical conference, a collection of review-like articles on a specific subject matter or extensive progress reports unsuitable for publication in EPJ A-E. Proceedings in the traditional sense will only be considered in very exceptional cases for meetings of outstanding quality and reputation.

Only proposals for a complete issue will be considered. Proposals will be refereed and should be submitted to either Sandrine Karpe (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ) and Vijala Kiruvanayagam (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ), EDP Sciences or Sabine Lehr, Springer (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ).

Discussion and Debate Issues

The journal offers a new feature in form of Discussion and Debate Issues. The aim of such topical issues is the balanced critical presentation of specific unsolved problems, controversial topics, rival theories, alternative methodologies, and negative results of interest at the cutting edge of scientific and technological development.

Aims and Scope

Details

Published on 12 June 2012

The purpose of this journal is to catalyse, foster, and disseminate an awareness and understanding of the historical development of ideas in contemporary physics, and more generally, ideas about 'how Nature works'.

This is the only journal to address the history of physics primarily from the physics and physicists' perspective. Being an integral part of a core physics publishing platform, it is intended to support physicists in their quest to reflect on, understand, and improve their own discipline. It is also intended to promote fruitful interaction between working physicists and historians of sciences.

Articles may therefore vary significantly in type, level and amount of technical discussion that is required to convey precise meaning to the respective communities. However, contributors are advised that comprehensive and lucid non-technical introductions and summaries should be provided for readers.

All papers will be published in English. Both regular articles and reviews will be considered.

The scope explicitly includes:

• Contributions addressing the history of physics and of physical ideas and concepts, especially those that illuminate or add to our understanding of modern physics.
• Careful analysis of recent physics history that chronicles and interprets significant shifts in the field.

• The historical development of physics in concert with adjacent disciplines such as mathematics, natural sciences, and philosophy of science.
• Studies of the historical development of physics and its connection to public policy (i.e., funding paradigms, educational structure changes, national research agendas, international cooperative frameworks, etc.)
• The development of experimental ideas and designs, and the role of technology development in physics discoveries.
• Annotated and historically contextualised translations of relevant non-English-language texts.
• Careful characterisations of abandoned ideas including past mistakes and false leads, thereby helping working physicists contemplate whether current ideas may suffer the same fates

The scope explicitly excludes:

• New forefront research results from the various physics subdisciplines.
• Essays primarily devoted to addressing questions within the philosophy of science discipline.

Aims and Scope

Details

Published on 12 June 2012

The scope of The European Physical Journal - Plus (EPJ Plus) encompasses all aspects of fundamental and applied physics, including energy, environment, cultural heritage, research infrastructures and citizen science, and welcomes in particular interdisciplinary topics. The journal offers a forum for both topical and methodological papers, encompassing all aspects of experimental, theoretical and computational techniques.

The journal accepts the following type of material beyond original research: progress reports, roadmaps & white papers, technical documents & protocols, tutorials & reviews. Technical documents and protocols typically demonstrate best practices and related benchmark studies for laboratory/instrumentation related procedures, data acquisition, processing and sharing. Such reports will contain a sufficient amount of introductory and background exposition in order to make the procedures and verifications described therein replicable. Roadmaps and white papers typically outline the direction of future research and should be substantiated through relevant physics cases and references. Tutorials considered by the journal will typically be concise postgraduate-level lecture notes on advanced and specialized topics. Progress reports typically provide concise overviews of ongoing research networks and related programs.

In addition, the journal will also consider new, relevant and independent theoretical, computational or experimental support and validation of previously published results to foster replicability in science.

To successfully and efficiently support such a broad scope:

• On submission manuscripts will be assessed by a member of the editorial board who will determine if the manuscript will proceed into peer review. Given the broad nature of the scope of this journal and the wide range of article types which get submitted, handling editors will initially make a decision based on the scope of the paper, potential interest to the community and regular integrity checks.
• It is entirely at the discretion of the editorial board to desk-reject submitted manuscripts and to not proceed with any further evaluation. Desk-rejections are final and appeals are not possible at this stage.
• Manuscripts submitted and accepted for further evaluation by the journal will be refereed regarding the quality and thoroughness of presentation as well as the clarity and soundness of details and arguments.

Aims and Scope

Details

Published on 12 June 2012

The 21st century is currently witnessing the establishment of data-driven science as a complementary approach to the traditional hypothesis-driven method. This (r)evolution accompanying the paradigm shift from reductionism to complex systems sciences has already largely transformed the natural sciences and is about to bring the same changes to the techno-socio-economic sciences, viewed broadly.

EPJ Data Science offers a publication platform to address this evolution by bringing together all academic disciplines concerned with the same challenges:

• how to extract meaningful data from systems with ever increasing complexity
• how to analyse them in a way that allows new insights
• how to generate data that is needed but not yet available
• how to find new empirical laws, or more fundamental theories, concerning how any natural or artificial (complex) systems work

This is accomplished through experiments and simulations, by data mining or by enriching data in a novel way. The focus of this journal is on conceptually new scientific methods for analyzing and synthesizing massive data sets, and on fresh ideas to link these insights to theory building and corresponding computer simulations. As such, articles mainly applying classical statistics tools to data sets or with a focus on programming and related software issues are outside the scope of this journal.

EPJ Data Science covers a broad range of research areas and applications and particularly encourages contributions from techno-socio-economic systems, where it comprises those research lines that now regard the digital "tracks" of human beings as first-order objects for scientific investigation. Topics include, but are not limited to, human behavior, social interaction (including animal societies), economic and financial systems, management and business networks, socio-technical infrastructure, health and environmental systems, the science of science, as well as general risk and crisis scenario forecasting up to and including policy advice.