Journal profile · Physics, Fluids & Plasmas
Physical Review E
ISSN 1539-3755 · eISSN 2470-0053 · American Physical Society · UNITED STATES · Semimonthly · Founded 2001
Physical Review E: CAS Zone 3 · Physics & Astronomy (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.45; hybrid open access; median 159 days to acceptance (100 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: fairly easy; 1,946 articles a year; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Physical Review E is published by American Physical Society and is in Zone 3 of Physics & Astronomy in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Theoretical and Computational Physics, Nonlinear Dynamics and Pattern Formation and Material Dynamics and Properties, together about 30.7% of its articles. Its main subfields are Statistical and Nonlinear Physics. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
18 September, 2026This paper models growing bacterial colonies under confinement and reports intermittent pressure drops reminiscent of avalanche behavior. A statistical analysis of these events shows that their scaling exponents are similar to mean-field predictions for avalanches in granular materials, suggesting that a new type of avalanche behavior takes place in bacterial colonies driven by particle growth rather than shearing or compression. #BiophysicsSpotlight #AdvancingField
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Physics, Fluids & Plasmas
Editorial board by country: 3 in mainland China (about 4%); most named United States 19, France 7, India 5, Germany 5, Italy 5 (82 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Theoretical and Computational PhysicsPhysics and Astronomy12.2%
- Nonlinear Dynamics and Pattern FormationComputer Science9.4%
- Material Dynamics and PropertiesMaterials Science9.2%
- Advanced Thermodynamics and Statistical MechanicsPhysics and Astronomy6.4%
- stochastic dynamics and bifurcationPhysics and Astronomy5.9%
- Complex Network Analysis TechniquesPhysics and Astronomy5.2%
- Spectroscopy and Quantum Chemical StudiesPhysics and Astronomy4.2%
- Stochastic processes and statistical mechanicsMathematics4%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Physics & Astronomy Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Physics & Astronomy | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Physics, Fluids & Plasmas | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Physics, Mathematical | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Physics & Astronomy Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Physics & Astronomy | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Physics, Fluids & Plasmas | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Physics, Mathematical | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Physics & Astronomy Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Physics & Astronomy | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Physics, Fluids & Plasmas | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Physics, Mathematical | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
PubMedINSPECPublisher website
Other: Google Scholar
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 2.45LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 2.5Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 4.1LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 4.1Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.68LetPub ·
- SJR (publisher)
- 0.68Publisher website ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.96LetPub ·
- h-index
- 287OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 21,676OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 0OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 20%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 11.65%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 1,946LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher)
- 1,947Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher)
- 516,214Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 30,061 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2021 | 14 | 0 | 0 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with Crossref · to
159 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 119 days – 207 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 0 days (100 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 160 days
- Sample
- 100 articles with submission and acceptance dates (120 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 3.3 monthsLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- Fairly easyLetPub ·
- Desk decision
- 6 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 57 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance
- 126 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to publication
- 154 daysPublisher website ·
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
No source has fee information yet; check the journal's website.
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
Article types accepted2
- lettersPRE publishes detailed research articles as well as Letters, which are short accessible papers of particular importance.Length not stated
- research articlesPRE publishes detailed research articles as well as Letters, which are short accessible papers of particular importance.Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Open access, Peer review
- AI use American Physical Society releases updated AI policy for APS journals17 June, 2026
The policy allows authors and reviewers to use AI tools and establishes boundaries to preserve human oversight and accountability.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open Access
At the core of APS's mission is a commitment to meeting the needs of physicists, a community that has been at the leading edge of open access. As a result, APS supports a variety of sustainable access options: Authors can pay an article publication charge (APC) to make accepted manuscripts immediately accessible under a CC-BY (4.0 International) license. In keeping with APS's community orientation…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
APS journals follow a common set of Editorial Policies and Practices covering editorial oversight, authorship, submissions, peer review, ethics, post publication, and open access. Model summary
All journals published by APS follow a common set of Editorial Policies and Practices, which cover Editorial Oversight and Decision Making, Authorship, Submissions, Resubmissions, and Transfers, Peer Review, Ethics and Research Integrity, Post Publication, and Open Access and Publications Rights.
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- American Physical Society
- Country or region
- UNITED STATES
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Semimonthly
- Founded
- 2001
- ISSN
- 1539-3755
- Print ISSN
- 2470-0045
- Electronic ISSN
- 2470-0053
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 114 (September 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Physical Review E
What CAS zone is Physical Review E in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Physical Review E is in Zone 3 of Physics & Astronomy, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Physics, Fluids & Plasmas / Physics, Mathematical. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Physics & Astronomy. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Physical Review E?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 2.45; CiteScore 4.1, h-index 287.
How long does peer review take at Physical Review E?
Based on the dates recorded on 100 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 159 days (interquartile range 119–207 days); authors report an average review time of about 3.3 months; the community-reported acceptance is “Fairly easy”. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
Where are the editorial board members of Physical Review E based?
Of the 82 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 3 (about 4%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (19), France (7) and India (5). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Physical Review E?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Physical Review E is indexed in SCIE and Scopus. The journal's website also lists PubMed and INSPEC; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Physical Review E open access, and what is the APC?
Physical Review E is a hybrid journal. Fee information is not available yet; check the journal's website.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-26). Last updated: .