Journal profile · Physics, Nuclear
Physical Review Special Topics - Accelerators and Beams
ISSN 1098-4402 · eISSN 2469-9888 · American Physical Society · UNITED STATES · Monthly
Physical Review Special Topics - Accelerators and Beams: impact factor 2 (journal website); diamond open access (no APC); no APC; median 159 days to acceptance (110 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: easy; 200 articles a year.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Physical Review Special Topics - Accelerators and Beams is published by American Physical Society. By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Particle Accelerators and Free-Electron Lasers, Particle accelerators and beam dynamics and Gyrotron and Vacuum Electronics Research, together about 57.6% of its articles. Its main subfields are Nuclear and High Energy Physics. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
9 September, 2026Laser Wakefield Acceleration offers the potential for more compact and cost-effective electron accelerators. Significant efforts are being made to improve electron beam quality for various applications, particularly through the design of suitable gas targets and optimization of laser and target parameters. The present study investigates LWFA in a specially designed capillary gas-cell setup for generating high-quality, GeV-scale electron beams using combined hydrodynamic and Particle-In-Cell (PIC) simulations. The results reveal the impact of tailored gas-density profiles on LWFA and beam quality, with multiple injection mechanisms identified and analyzed.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Physics, Nuclear
Editorial board by country: 2 in mainland China (about 13%); most named United States 6, Mainland China 2, Switzerland 2, United Kingdom 1, Japan 1 (15 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Particle Accelerators and Free-Electron LasersEngineering24.6%
- Particle accelerators and beam dynamicsEngineering22.8%
- Gyrotron and Vacuum Electronics ResearchPhysics and Astronomy10.1%
- Laser-Plasma Interactions and DiagnosticsPhysics and Astronomy6.7%
- Advanced X-ray Imaging TechniquesPhysics and Astronomy5.7%
- Superconducting Materials and ApplicationsEngineering5.3%
- Magnetic confinement fusion researchPhysics and Astronomy4.5%
- Laser-Matter Interactions and ApplicationsPhysics and Astronomy2.2%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
Database indexing
DOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
SCIEScopusINSPECPublisher 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 (publisher)
- 2Publisher website ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 3.2Publisher website ·
- SJR (publisher)
- 0.68Publisher website ·
- h-index
- 89OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 1,469OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 0OpenAlex ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 0%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year (publisher)
- 200Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher)
- 115,157Publisher website ·
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 112 days – 221 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 28 days (116 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 182 days
- Sample
- 110 articles with submission and acceptance dates (436 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)
- 3–8 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- EasyLetPub ·
- Desk decision
- 9 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 61 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance
- 141 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to publication
- 176 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 23 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Single anonymous peer reviewDOAJ
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
Diamond open access (no APC)DOAJ
Every article is open access and authors pay no article processing charge.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | No APC | No | CC BY | |
| LetPub | No APC | No | — |
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)
What to prepare4 items from the author guidelines
- Reference style
- Author–date
- Templates
- LaTeX and Word
- Suggested reviewers
- Optional
- Cover letter
- Required
Article types accepted11, with length limits
- editorialPhysical Review Accelerators and Beams offers the following Article Types: Letters (length limit: 4500 words) Original research articles reporting important res…Length not stated
- letterPhysical Review Accelerators and Beams offers the following Article Types: Letters (length limit: 4500 words) Original research articles reporting important res…Length not stated
- lettersPRAB publishes detailed research articles, review articles, and Letters.Length not stated
- original research articlePhysical Review Accelerators and Beams offers the following Article Types: Letters (length limit: 4500 words) Original research articles reporting important res…Length not stated
- regular articlePhysical Review Accelerators and Beams offers the following Article Types: Letters (length limit: 4500 words) Original research articles reporting important res…Length not stated
- research articlePhysical Review Accelerators and Beams offers the following Article Types: Letters (length limit: 4500 words) Original research articles reporting important res…Length not stated
- research articlesPRAB publishes detailed research articles, review articles, and Letters.Length not stated
- reviewPhysical Review Accelerators and Beams offers the following Article Types: Letters (length limit: 4500 words) Original research articles reporting important res…main text ≤ 4,500 words
- review articlePhysical Review Accelerators and Beams offers the following Article Types: Letters (length limit: 4500 words) Original research articles reporting important res…Length not stated
- review articlesPRAB publishes detailed research articles, review articles, and Letters.Length not stated
- surveyPhysical Review Accelerators and Beams offers the following Article Types: Letters (length limit: 4500 words) Original research articles reporting important res…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Data availability, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Self-archiving
- AI use Appropriate Use of AI Tools
AI tools may be used to assist with aspects of research and manuscript preparation, but AI tools cannot replace authors’ expertise, judgment, or accountability. An AI program cannot be held accountable and cannot be listed as an author. Authors are fully responsible for accuracy and must review and refine all AI-generated content. Moreover, they must disclose in the paper any substantive uses of A…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Data Availability Statements
All published articles must include a Data Availability Statement (DAS) that explains whether and how authors are sharing their data. Authors are asked to enter a complete data availability statement during the submission process, including relevant citations. See Guidelines for Data Availability Statements in Physical Review.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright
CC-BY 4.0 International license with authors retaining copyright Model summary
All articles are published with an open CC-BY (4.0 International) license with authors retaining copyright.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open Access
Fully open access Model summary
This journal is fully open access with all articles freely available for readers anywhere in the world. Physical Review Accelerators and Beams is a fully open access journal that is funded by financial contributions from sponsors. Authors are able to publish in the journal at no charge. All articles are published with an open CC-BY (4.0 International) license with authors retaining copyright. This…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer Review
All APS journals follow the single-anonymized peer review procedures outlined in the Editorial Policies and Practices. Comments and Replies Comments and Replies are generally handled as follows: The Comment is first sent to the author(s) whose work is being critiqued. These author(s) act as “identified” reviewers and should send a report suitable for transmittal, over their names, to the author of…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Self-archiving Press Office and Embargo Policy
Authors may post final version on lab/institutional/departmental websites Model summary
APS issues a weekly tip sheet for reporters that highlights upcoming newsworthy research from the APS portfolio of journals. Unless otherwise noted, papers submitted to APS journals are not embargoed. Visit this information page about the APS Press Office to find out more about the tip sheet and the APS Embargo Policy.
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
- Monthly
- ISSN
- 1098-4402
- Electronic ISSN
- 2469-9888
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 29 (September 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Aims & Scope ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗LetPub
- Editorial board ↗LetPub
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Physical Review Special Topics - Accelerators and Beams
What is the impact factor of Physical Review Special Topics - Accelerators and Beams?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 2; this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; h-index 89.
How long does peer review take at Physical Review Special Topics - Accelerators and Beams?
Based on the dates recorded on 110 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 159 days (interquartile range 112–221 days); authors report an average review time of 3–8 weeks; the community-reported acceptance is “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.
What are the manuscript requirements of Physical Review Special Topics - Accelerators and Beams?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Reference style: Author–date; Templates: LaTeX and Word; Suggested reviewers: Optional; Cover letter: Required. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of Physical Review Special Topics - Accelerators and Beams based?
Of the 15 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 2 (about 13%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (6), Mainland China (2) and Switzerland (2). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Physical Review Special Topics - Accelerators and Beams?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Physical Review Special Topics - Accelerators and Beams is indexed in DOAJ. The journal's website also lists SCIE, Scopus and INSPEC; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Physical Review Special Topics - Accelerators and Beams open access, and what is the APC?
Physical Review Special Topics - Accelerators and Beams is a diamond open-access journal (no APC). It charges no article processing charge.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex, DOAJ; 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: .