Journal profile · Physics, Multidisciplinary
Physical Review Letters
ISSN 0031-9007 · eISSN 1079-7114 · American Physical Society · UNITED STATES · Weekly · Founded 1958
Physical Review Letters: CAS Zone 1 · Physics & Astronomy (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 9.19; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,750; median 196 days to acceptance (189 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: 50%; 3,317 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Physical Review Letters is published by American Physical Society and is in Zone 1 of Physics & Astronomy in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Physics of Superconductivity and Magnetism, Quantum and electron transport phenomena and Particle physics theoretical and experimental studies, together about 22.8% of its articles. Its main subfields are Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
In 2026, a new prize was introduced to celebrate the contributions of early-career researchers to the Physical Review journals within the Astronomy and Astrophysics Topical Group, such as Physical Review Letters. Eligible candidates are early-career authors (PhD students and post-docs), and nominations should be submitted via email to astro@aps.org. The award includes a $2,000 cash prize, a certificate, an invitation to attend the APS Global Physics Summit in Atlanta, and the opportunity to present at Physical Review’s astro session at the GPS. Please see the Announcement here for more details.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Physics, Multidisciplinary
Editorial board by country: 9 in mainland China (about 10%); most named United States 38, Mainland China 9, United Kingdom 5, Germany 4, France 4 (87 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Physics of Superconductivity and MagnetismPhysics and Astronomy8.5%
- Quantum and electron transport phenomenaPhysics and Astronomy7.7%
- Particle physics theoretical and experimental studiesPhysics and Astronomy6.7%
- Cold Atom Physics and Bose-Einstein CondensatesPhysics and Astronomy6.1%
- Quantum Chromodynamics and Particle InteractionsPhysics and Astronomy5.8%
- Theoretical and Computational PhysicsPhysics and Astronomy5.4%
- Quantum, superfluid, helium dynamicsPhysics and Astronomy5%
- Advanced Chemical Physics StudiesPhysics and Astronomy4.9%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Physics & Astronomy Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Physics & Astronomy | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Physics, Multidisciplinary | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Physics & Astronomy Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Physics & Astronomy | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Physics, Multidisciplinary | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Physics & Astronomy Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Physics & Astronomy | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Physics, Multidisciplinary | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview 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
- 9.19LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 9.4Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 14.2LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 14.2Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 2.79LetPub ·
- SJR (publisher)
- 2.79Publisher website ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 2.34LetPub ·
- SNIP (publisher)
- 54.26Publisher website ·
- h-index
- 567LetPub ·
- h-index
- 982OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 122,084OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 8.92OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 9.6%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 29.49%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 2,964LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher)
- 2,971Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher)
- 3,915,096Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 146,412 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 2,250 | 1,357 | 2,168 |
| 2025 | 3,317 | 2,402 | 24,096 |
| 2024 | 2,583 | 1,865 | 46,406 |
| 2023 | 2,229 | 1,735 | 61,342 |
| 2022 | 2,161 | 1,798 | 75,431 |
| 2021 | 2,494 | 2,211 | 117,080 |
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
196 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 146 days – 277 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 14 days (193 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 224 days
- Sample
- 189 articles with submission and acceptance dates (6,147 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 2.1 monthsLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- 50%LetPub ·
- Desk decision
- 7 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 54 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance
- 179 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to publication
- 212 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.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 3,750 | — | — |
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 accepted1
- lettersPRL publishes short, high-quality reports of the most influential developments and transformative ideas in the full arc of fundamental, applied and interdiscipl…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 on publication under a CC-BY (4.0 International) license. In keeping with APS's commun…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
Editorial Policies and Practices 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
- Weekly
- Founded
- 1958
- ISSN
- 0031-9007
- Electronic ISSN
- 1079-7114
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 137 (September 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Physical Review Letters
What CAS zone is Physical Review Letters in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Physical Review Letters is in Zone 1 of Physics & Astronomy, and in Zone 1 of the minor category Physics, Multidisciplinary; it is a Top journal. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 1 of Physics & Astronomy. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Physical Review Letters?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 9.19; CiteScore 14.2, h-index 982.
How long does peer review take at Physical Review Letters?
Based on the dates recorded on 189 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 196 days (interquartile range 146–277 days); authors report an average review time of about 2.1 months; the community-reported acceptance is “50%”. 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 Letters based?
Of the 87 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 9 (about 10%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (38), Mainland China (9) and United Kingdom (5). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Physical Review Letters?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Physical Review Letters 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 Letters open access, and what is the APC?
Physical Review Letters is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,750.
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 2026-08-25). Last updated: .