What is the Impact Factor of Physical Review Letters?

According to the latest Clarivate Journal Citation Reports (JCR), the Journal Impact Factor of Physical Review Letters is 9.40, ranking in quartile Q1 of Web of Science (SCIE).

Is Physical Review Letters indexed in Web of Science or Scopus?

Yes, Physical Review Letters is indexed in Web of Science (SCIE, Q1 quartile). Furthermore, in Scopus (SCImago), it holds an SJR rating of 2.790 (Q1) and an H-index of 750.

Who publishes Physical Review Letters and what is the Article Processing Charge (APC)?

Physical Review Letters is published by American Physical Society. The estimated Article Processing Charge (APC) is approximately $4,079 USD, subject to institutional waivers and corresponding author affiliations.

What is the ISO-4 abbreviation and acronym of Physical Review Letters?

The official ISO-4 abbreviation of Physical Review Letters is "PHYS. REV. LETT". This standardized title abbreviation is used in citation lists conforming to IEEE, APA, Harvard, or Vancouver styles.

WoS SCIE Q1Scopus Q1SCImago #819Top JournalHybrid

Physical Review Letters

Abbreviation (ISO):PHYS. REV. LETT

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Identifier (ISSN):0031-9007(Print)/1079-7114(Online)

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Publisher:American Physical Society

Official Website Submission Portal Compare

Clarivate IF (2026)

9.4↑ +0.4

Journal Impact Factor

IF Trend↓

WoS Quartile

WoS SCIETop Tier

Clarivate WoS JCR

WoS Categories↓

JCR Release Date: 2026-06-17

Impact Factor Trend (2018–2026)

Clarivate IF trend for Physical Review Letters

WoS Q1

Annual Impact Factor Metric

Current (2026):9.4

Scopus SJR & RankScopus Q1

2.79

#819

SCImago Journal Rank citation prestige weighting

Scopus Year: 2025

H-Index (2025)

750

750 papers with at least that number of citations each

WoS: SCIE / JCRTop Tier

Self-Citation Rate7.4%

Safe Level (< 15%)Warning Level (> 20%)

Self-citation below 15% indicates strong scholarly independence.

Volume & Open AccessHybrid

2,362articles/year

29.49% Gold OA•99.9% Original Research

Aims & Scope

PRL covers the full range of applied, fundamental, and interdisciplinary physics research topics: General physics, including statistical and quantum mechanics and quantum information Gravitation, astrophysics, and cosmology Elementary particles and fields Nuclear physics Atomic, molecular, and optical physics Nonlinear dynamics, fluid dynamics, and classical optics Plasma and beam physics Condensed matter and materials physics Polymers, soft matter, biological, climate and interdisciplinary physics, including networks

Topics Covered (Recognized by AI)

PhysicsQuantum MechanicsMaterials ScienceChemistryEngineeringMathematicsCondensed Matter PhysicsNuclear PhysicsOrganic ChemistryOpticsThermodynamicsComputer ScienceBiologyComposite MaterialsElectrical EngineeringGeometry

Primary Research Areas

Physics Physics: Multidisciplinary

Official Website NLM PubMed Catalog Submission Portal SCImago Profile

0 calls

Special Issues

Calls for Papers

No active Calls for Papers found for this journal.

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WoS Categories & Quartiles

Detailed JCR / JCI category rankings and quartile breakdown from Clarivate

Clarivate JCR & JCI

JCRSCIE2026

PHYSICS, MULTIDISCIPLINARY

Rank9/112

IndexSCIE

JCISCIE2026

PHYSICS, MULTIDISCIPLINARY

Rank7/112

IndexSCIE

Category	Index	Rank	Quartile
PHYSICS, MULTIDISCIPLINARY	JCRSCIE	9/112	Q1
PHYSICS, MULTIDISCIPLINARY	JCISCIE	7/112	Q1

Annual Historical Statistics & Publications

Track annual publication volume, total citations, and Impact Factor evolution

12 year

2026Latest

IF9.4

Articles / Year2,194

Total Citations2,052

2025

IF9

Articles / Year3,323

Total Citations23,341

2024

IF8.1

Articles / Year2,583

Total Citations45,837

2023

IF8.6

Articles / Year2,229

Total Citations62,315

2022

IF9.185

Articles / Year2,161

Total Citations69,746

Year	Impact Factor	Articles / Year	Total Citations
2026	9.4	2,194	2,052
2025	9	3,323	23,341
2024	8.1	2,583	45,837
2023	8.6	2,229	62,315
2022	9.185	2,161	69,746
2021	9.161	2,494	114,050
2020	8.385	2,889	164,761
2019	9.227	2,790	193,666
2018	8.839	2,957	230,409
2017	—	2,683	214,839
2016	—	2,536	238,599
2015	—	2,672	244,192

SCImago & Scopus Journal Intelligence

Global SCImago ranking, SJR prestige index, Scopus coverage, and societal policy impact

Rank #819Scopus Q1SCImago Profile

Scopus Coverage:1958-2026

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Scopus Broad Areas:Physics and Astronomy

Scopus Citation Rank (SJR)Q1

2.79

Weighted prestige citation metric per document indexed in the Scopus database.

Quartile: Scopus Q1

Citations / Doc (2 years)

8.73

Average citations received per document published in the 2-year window.

2-Year Citation Window

Estimated Publication Fee (APC)

$4,079 USD

Estimated Article Processing Charge for Open Access publication.

Estimated cost / article

Scopus 3-Year Publication & Citation Window

3-Year Citations59,362

3-Year Documents6,765

Citable Documents6,708

Aggregated from Scopus database across the 3-year SJR evaluation window.

Societal Impact & Inclusivity (SCImago)

Policy Citations (Overton)0

Citations in government and international policy documents

Female Author Rate21.7%

Percentage of female authors published in the journal

Real-world societal policy reach and author gender diversity tracked by SCImago.

Scopus Subject Categories

Physics and Astronomy (miscellaneous)Q1

Academic Metric Intelligence

Journal Metrics & Citation Visualizations

Total Cites vs Self-Cites

Evaluation of scholarly independence and citation reach

Total citations steady growth

Self-citation: 7.4%

Citations per Document

Citation metric windows across 2, 3, and 4 years

Cites / Doc (4 years)Cites / Doc (3 years)Cites / Doc (2 years)

Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Classification

Major / minor zone classification and CAS Early Warning List history

Major Category (Broad Field):

1区 (Zone 1)Physics & Astrophysics

Minor Category (Specific Field):

1区PHYSICS, MULTIDISCIPLINARY

CAS Early Warning List History:

Updated annually: 2020 – 2024

2020

Not warned

2021

Not warned

2022

Not warned

2023

Not warned

2024

Not warned

Academic Intelligence Overview & Context

ImpaQ Analysis

Physical Review Letters (abbr: PHYS. REV. LETT, ISSN: 0031-9007) is a peer-reviewed international scholarly journal in the field of Physics, published by American Physical Society in United States since 1958. The periodical holds a Journal Impact Factor (JIF) of 9.40, ranking in quartile Q1 of Web of Science (SCIE), a Scopus SJR indicator of 2.790 (Q1), an H-index of 750.

The journal enforces rigorous peer evaluation with a publication frequency of Weekly, an annual output of approximately 2,362 scientific articles. In terms of accessibility and author fees, it operates under the Hybrid model with an estimated APC of $4,079 USD. It serves as a benchmark publication platform for academics, researchers, and doctoral candidates seeking global research visibility.