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II. Style Instructions for Parts of a Manuscript
*The parts of a manuscript which must be included in every manuscript are marked with an asterisk.

A. * Title
B. * Author(s) name(s)

C. * Author(s) affiliation(s)

D. * Receipt date

E. * Abstract

F. * Physics and Astronomy Classification Scheme (PACS) indexing codes

G. * Main body of the paper---sequential organization
1. Types of headings and section-head numbers
2. Reference, figure, and table numbering
3. Equation numbering
H. Acknowledgments
I. Appendix(es)
J. * Footnotes and reference citations
1. Footnotes---introductory
2. Footnotes---reference citations
3. Footnotes---nonparenthetical side remarks
4. Footnotes---tables and figures
K. Tables
1. Sizes
2. Captions
3. Lines and space
4. Headings
5. Entry lineup
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L. Figures
1. Types of figures
2. Designing and labeling figures
3. Identifying figures
4. Figure captions

II. Style Instructions for Parts of a Manuscript
The basic parts of a manuscript are discussed below. Those parts which must be included in every manuscript are
marked with an asterisk.

A. *Title

Titles are to be simple and concise. Begin the first word with a capital letter; thereafter capitalize only proper or
trade names and chemical symbols. The use of nonstandard abbreviations and acronyms is not allowed.
Unnecessary words (a, on, an, the, etc.) at the beginning of the title should be dropped.

B. *Author(s) name(s)

It is preferable to use only one form of your name as an author in all of your publications.

C. *Author(s) affiliation(s)

Write out the names and postal addresses of all institutions in full. Include box numbers, apartment numbers, or
street numbers only if necessary for effective mail delivery. ZIP codes are required for U.S. addresses. [Note: If
you expect to be contacted by readers, provision of a complete mailing address in the bylines (including

department) is advantageous.]

D. *Receipt date

The received date indicates the date the manuscript was received by the scientific editor. This date will be
verified by the editor and will appear in the printed article.

E. *Abstract

An abstract must accompany each manuscript. The abstract should consist of one paragraph and be
completely self-contained. It cannot contain numbered references; incorporate such information into the
abstract itself. Use this form:

Further information is available [A. B. Smith, Phys. Rev. A 26, 107 (1982)].

Displayed equations and tabular material are discouraged. Define all nonstandard symbols and abbreviations.

F. *Physics and Astronomy Classification Scheme (PACS) indexing codes

Each manuscript must be assigned indexing codes which are used in computerized secondary information
services. In general, follow these guidelines.

1. Choose no more than four index number codes.
2. Place your principal index code first.
3. Always choose the lowest-level code available.
4. Always include the check characters.

All indexing will be verified by the journal scientific editor.

G. *Main body of the paper --- sequential organization

The body of the paper (text and math) should be divided into sections with the use of section headings and
subheadings. However, headings are not always required; for short papers headings may not be necessary or
permitted. Equations, tabular material, figures, and references should also follow a sequential numerical
scheme in order to ensure a logical development of subject matter.

1. Types of headings and section-head numbers

The major divisions in a paper are indicated by principal headings [level (1)]. Each major section can be
further divided by subheadings [levels (2)--(4)]. Each subdivision of a heading indicates a more specific
topic.

The following list indicates the four different types of section headings and the appropriate style for each.
In all headings symbols and abbreviations should appear as they would in text. Refer to a recent issue of
Physical Review for comparison.

Level (1)

1. PRINCIPAL HEADING

Centered heading, all capital letters, preceded by a roman numeral and a period.

Level (2)

A. First subheading

Centered heading, first word capitalized, preceded by a roman capital letter and a period.

Level (3)

1. Second subheading

Centered heading, first word capitalized, all italic, preceded by an arabic numeral and a period.

Level (4)

(a) Third subheading. Text following a paragraph indentation, first word capitalized, all italic, preceded
by a lowercase letter or number in parentheses.

2. Reference, figure, and table numbering

In the body of the paper all references, figures, and tables must be cited consecutively in numerical order.
Tables are numbered with roman numerals (I, II, III, etc.). Figures use arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, etc.) with
(a), (b), (c), etc., to label the parts of figures. Note that parentheses are used to enclose the labels for
parts of figures, e.g., Fig. 1(a). For Physical Review B, references use numerals as superscripts
(Jones1) or on line [Jones (Ref. 1) or Jones, Ref. 1]. Superscript numbers are always placed after a
comma, period, quotation marks, colon, and semicolon (Jones, 1 Jones.1 Jones"1 Jones:1 Jones;1). For
Physical Review A, C, D, E, and Letters, references use on-line numerals in square brackets (Jones
[1]); these are spaced away from the preceding word or symbol, and are placed inside punctuation.

3. Equation numbering

Equations that are important, long, complex, or referenced later in the paper are set off from the text


(displayed) and may be numbered consecutively with arabic numbers within parentheses [(1), (2), (3),
etc.]. These numbers are placed to the extreme right of the equation. More information is available in the
Instructions for composing mathematical material section under C.4. Equation numbering.

H. Acknowledgments

The acknowledgment section follows the main body of the paper and precedes any appendixes. One
paragraph is suggested, with acknowledgment of financial support listed at the end. A principal heading [level
(1)] is used for this section, but the section is not numbered. Dedications, as contrasted to acknowledgments,
are not permitted.

I. Appendix(es)

Appendixes are placed after the acknowledgments section and before the listing of references. All appendixes
must have a heading [level (1)]. A variety of styles is permitted; examples of each appear below:

APPENDIX

(single appendix, no titles),

APPENDIX A

(more than one appendix, no titles),

APPENDIX: SURVEY OF RESULTS

(single appendix, with title),

APPENDIX A: SURVEY OF RESULTS

(more than one appendix, all must be titled).

Equations in appendixes that are displayed and require numbering are treated separately from those in the
main body of the paper. The appendix equations are numbered consecutively [(A1), (A2), (A3), etc.], bearing
the label of the appendix in which they appear. In each appendix the equations are numbered separately. For
the case of one appendix the same (A1), (A2), (A3) form for numbering equations is used.

J. * Footnotes and reference citations

Footnotes are divided into four categories:

1. footnotes to introductory information [author(s) and address(es)],
2. footnotes for references cited in text,
3. footnotes for short comments relevant to the text material, and
4. footnotes that are pertinent to a table or figure only.

All four types should be cited where appropriate and should be cited in consecutive numerical order. For
Physical Review B, E, and Letters types (1)--(3) are incorporated into one consecutive list of references to be
placed at the end of the paper. For the other journals, type (1) footnotes are placed instead at the bottom of the
page on which they appear. As an option (Physical Review A, C, and D only), footnotes [types (1) and (3)]
may appear separately from the references [type (2)] and be placed at the bottom of the page on which they
appear. Type (4) footnotes should be written out completely in the table or figure caption where they are cited.
All types of footnotes are discussed in the following instructions. Examples of the recommended form and
content for Physical Review references are presented in Table I. For a list of some standard journal
abbreviations used, please see the Appendix.

1. Footnotes---introductory

For introductory [type (1)] footnotes use these symbols (always as superscripts): *, , , §, , ¶, **, , , §§,
, ¶¶ (in the order listed), if there are 12 or fewer footnotes. Use lowercase letters a, b, c, etc., if there
are 13 or more footnotes. For example, an introductory footnote which refers to an author's name will

appear as J. M. Smith* in the author's byline citation and will appear either as the first reference in the
listing at the end of the paper or at the bottom of the page on which they appear. Acknowledgments of
financial support should not appear as footnotes to the title or an author's name, but rather should be part
of the acknowledgment section.

2. Footnotes---reference citations

For Physical Review B, reference footnotes [type (2)] are noted in text by the insertion of numerals as
either a superscript or on line in this manner:

Smith2 does not agree with the original values given in Ref. 1.

The use of a superscript is preferred. When that use could possibly cause confusion (i.e., Pb4), the on-
line form should be used [Pb (Ref. 4)]. In the footnote listing at the end of the paper use only the
superscript form.

For Physical Review A, C, D, E, and Letters, reference footnotes [type (2)] are noted in text by on-line
arabic numerals in square brackets in this manner: Smith and Jones [3] also measured ....

Reference indicators should be at least one full space from words (not closed up to them as with
superscripts). Multiple reference indicators should be set closed up within a single set of brackets: Smith
and Jones [1,3,5--8] performed .... Reference indicators should be set inside punctuation: The work of
Smith [3], that of Jones [4], and our previous work [5--8] disagree with that of Doe and Roe [13]. When
the word "reference" is used in specifying a reference, use the abbreviation (unless at the beginning of a
sentence) with the indicator in brackets: ... as was shown in Ref. [4]. Note that use of the following form is
also acceptable: ... as was shown in [4].

3. Footnotes--nonparenthetical side remarks

For Physical Review A, C, and D, footnotes to text material, when cited separately from references, are

designated in text by superscript numerals and numbered consecutively, separately from reference
numbering, throughout the paper.

4. Footnotes--tables and figures

Type (4) footnotes are those that are pertinent only to a particular figure or table and that do not appear in
the final reference list at the end of the paper. A type (4) footnote can appear in the appropriate table or
figure caption. Two forms can be used:

FIG. 1. Theoretical data, denoted by triangles, are from J. M. Smith, Phys. Rev. B 26, 1 (1982).

FIG. 2. Theoretical data, denoted by triangles [J. M. Smith, Phys. Rev. B 26, 1 (1982)].

Alternatively, a type (4) footnote can be included in a list immediately below the table.

Table X: The data in column 1 [J. M. Smith, Phys. Rev. B 26, 1 (1982)]
are of primary importance. The other ...

=====================================
1.01 x=2.2 ...
2.01 x=3.2a ...

=====================================
a R. B. Jones, Phys. Rev. A 26, 5 (1982).

Table I: Physical Review has established general forms to make the presentation of reference
information as simple and concise as possible. Follow the instructions below and use these forms in the
final reference list. Comments pertaining to a particular reference are enclosed in square brackets at the
end of some examples. For a list of the standard journal abbreviations, please see the Appendix.

Type Entry in final reference list or at bottom of the page

Introductory type (1) *Present address: Physics Department, Auburn University,
Auburn, AL 36849.
On leave from Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY
11973.
Corresponding author.

Text type (2)
(a) How to list authors
One author: J. M. Smith, Phys. Rev. B 26, 1 (1982).

Two authors: J. M. Smith and R. Brown, Phys. Rev. B 26, 1 (1982).

Several authors (e.g., ten or J. M. Smith, R. Brown, C. Green, D. Jones, and A. Lee, Phys.
fewer): Rev. B 46, 1 (1992).

Only if length constrained and J. M. Smith et al., Phys. Rev. B 46, 1 (1992).
four or more authors:

Large collaboration J. M. Smith et al. (XYZ Collaboration), Phys. Rev. D 46, 1
(collaboration name should be (1992).
given if it appears in the byline
of the cited article):

(b) How to list sources
One source: J. M. Smith, R. Brown, C. Green, and A. White, Phys. Rev. B
26, 1 (1982).

Two sources: J. M. Smith, Phys. Rev. B 26, 1 (1982); Nucl. Phys. A195, 1

(1982).
[Note that a semicolon is used between sources.]

J. M. Smith, Phys. Rev. B 26, 1 (1982); Nucl. Phys. A195, 1
Three or more sources: (1982); Phys. Lett. 16A, 1 (1982).

(c) How to list same author, same J. M. Smith, Phys. Rev. B 24, 3 (1981); 26, 1 (1982).
source, different volume and page

(d) How to list same author, same J. M. Smith, Phys. Rev. B 26, 1 (1982); 26, 6 (1982). [Note that
source, same volume number, same both page numbers are listed separately.]
year, and different page numbers

(e) How to list different authors and J. M. Smith, Phys. Rev. B. 26, 1 (1982); R. Brown, Heavy Ions
different sources (Academic, New York, 1982); C. Green, Ph.D. thesis, Brown
University, 1980.

(f) How to list different authors, same J. M. Smith, Phys. Rev. B 26, 1 (1982); R. Brown, ibid. 24, 3
sources (1981); C. Green, ibid. 24, 22 (1981). [Note that ibid. is used
instead of repeating the journal name.]

(g) How to list multiple parts in a (a) J. M. Smith, Phys. Rev. B 26, 1 (1982); (b) R. Brown, Nucl.
single footnote Phys. A195, 1 (1982).

(h) Journals J. M. Smith, Phys. Rev. B 26, 1 (1982).
[published]

J. M. Smith, Phys. Rev. D (to be published).
[accepted for publication]

J. M. Smith, Phys. Rev. B 26, 706(E) (1982).
[erratum]

J. M. Smith, Zh. Eksp. Teor. Fiz. 51, 165 (1996) [Sov. Phys.
JETP 24, 11 (1967)].
[Russian journal reference with English journal translation]

(i) Books J. M. Smith, Molecular Dynamics (Academic, New York,
1980), Vol. 2, p. 20
[published, use italic title; additional information (Vol., Chap.,
Sec., p., etc.) as appropriate]

J. M. Smith, in Molecular Dynamics, edited by C. Brown
(Academic, New York 1980).
[published, use italic title; for edited works use form "in" and
"by"]

J. M. Smith, Molecular Dynamics (Academic, New York, in
press).
[in the process of being published, use italic title and the form
"in press"]

(j) Proceedings J. M. Smith, in Proceedings of the International Conference
on Low Temperature Physics, Madison, 1958, edited by C.
Brown (University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1958), p. 201.
[published, use italic title; edited form as above]

J. M. Smith, in Proceedings of the International Conference on
Low Temperature Physics, Madison, 1958, edited by C. Brown
(unpublished).
[not published, use roman title; edited form as above]

J. M. Smith, in Low Temperature Physics, proceedings of the

International Conference, Madison, Wisconsin, edited by C.
Brown (University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1958).
[shortened published title, use italic title with descriptive
information following; edited form as above]

(k) Reports J. M. Smith, Brookhaven National Laboratory Report No. 10,
1982 (unpublished).
[Most reports are considered to be unpublished. Those reports
considered as full publications should be designated without
the parenthetical unpublished at the end of the reference.]

J. M. Smith, Brookhaven National Laboratory Report No. 110,
1992 (to be published).

(l) Preprints (journal specific) J. M. Smith, Ph.D. thesis, Brown University, 1980.

(m) Theses

(n) Others J. M. Smith (private communication).

J. M. Smith (unpublished).

J. M. Smith as discussed in A. Jones, Phys. Rev. B 26, 1
(1982). [cited in another paper]

J. M. Smith, computer code CRUX, Bell Laboratories, Murray
Hill, NJ, 1972.


Tables may also contain type (2) footnotes which appear in the final reference list. Such footnotes may
be cited by letter on line, or may be incorporated with other footnotes mentioned in the table into a listing
at the end of the table. Lowercase roman letters are used to identify the footnotes in the table and in the
list, i.e., a, b, c, etc. They are in superscript form when they refer to an entry or heading and on line when
they replace a missing entry. Order the footnote letters consecutively row by row, and not by column.

TABLE X. Experimental results (Ref. [6]).
================================================

f(E2/M1)

Theor.a Expt.

------------------------------------------------

-41.0 -18±0.3b

-57.5 -10±0.6

37.3

13.7 c

=================================================

a Reference [1].

b Reference [2].


c Not available.

The pdf version of the table is available.

K. Tables

Tabular material of more than approximately four lines should not remain as part of the text. It should be treated
as a separate numbered table, complete with a descriptive caption. All such tables must be cited in text and
are to be numbered consecutively in order of their appearance in text. Use roman numerals. The following
instructions and descriptions of components are included here to assist you in the preparation of tables.
Examination of some current issues of Physical Review will illustrate a wide variety of tables and will serve to
clarify the instructions below.

Extensive tabular material (and useful information that is not essential to understanding an article's main
results) may be deposited as Supplemental Material. For more information, see
http://forms.aps.org/author/supmatinstr.pdf.

1. Sizes

There are several standard types of tables. Each type is determined by its width and/or length. Each type
requires captions, lines, and spacing, as well as headings appropriate to its size. It is, therefore,
necessary to first estimate what the width and length of a table will be.

There are four standard one-page table widths:

1. narrow (one column, 8.6 cm or 3.4 in.),
2. medium (centered, 14 cm or 5.5 in.),
3. wide (two columns, 17.8 cm or 7.0 in.), and

3. wide (two columns, 17.8 cm or 7.0 in.), and
4. turned table (one-page length turned sideways, 25.4 cm or 10.0 in.).

A turned table requires special handling by the production staff. Please identify it as such in a cover
letter.

In addition, to accommodate extremely wide tabular material, tables can read across facing pages (35.6
cm or 14.0 in.). This type of table also requires special handling by the production staff and should be
identified in a cover letter. This table requires a duplicate set of wide headings, lines, and a "continued"
caption.

TABLE I. (Continued.)

A one-page table (narrow, medium, or wide) may not exceed 25.4 cm or 10.0 in. in length or
approximately 63 lines. This overall length has to include the caption, opening lines and spacing,
headings, entries, closing lines and spacing, and any footnote material connected to the table. If the total
length exceeds this limit, the table may be treated in one of the following ways.

1. A very long, narrow, one-column table can be split and continued in a second column on the same
page. It will require a wide caption, a duplicate set of headings, and wide opening and closing
lines.

2. A very long medium or wide table can be continued on the next page or pages. In addition to its
first-page caption, headings, etc., it will need a duplicate set of headings, lines, etc., for each
additional continued page. It will also require a "continued" caption (see above) for each additional
page of the table.

2. Captions


Each table that is not part of the text must have a descriptive caption. It should be as concise as
possible. The caption can consist of an abbreviated sentence (without a beginning article and/or verb)
punctuated as a complete sentence. If it is made up of more than one sentence, treat it as a single
paragraph.

The caption must begin with the word table, in capital letters, followed by the appropriate roman numeral
and period, and then a small amount of explanatory text. Displayed math is allowed within the caption,
but the use of short mathematical expressions in broken-down form is preferred. Abbreviations and
acronyms that pertain to the whole table should be defined in the caption. Those already defined in text
need not be defined again.

TABLE I. Spin-orbit parameters.

TABLE II. Calculated M1 matrix elements for 156Gd, Mrs (M1)=(S1|M(M1)|r) in 10-2 µN.

3. Lines and space

Lines and space are used to separate and define the integral parts of a table. They aid the eye and
group information appropriately.

A simple table needs lines in only three locations: two lines together at the beginning and end of the table
and a single line separating the headings and columns of entries. A more complicated table, one made
up of several parts and having more than one set of headings, will need additional space and lines. Each
set of headings will require a line below it and extra space running horizontally above it to separate it
from the preceding part of the table.


Use spacing also for grouping. Clear separation of one column and heading from another is created by
inserting extra space running vertically between them.

Extra space running horizontally can be used to distinguish broad groups among the entries. Smaller
groupings of related entries can be indicated by the use of a single curly brace or a combination of a
single curly brace and extra space.

Tables that require nonstandard treatment will need to be discussed in a cover letter. The production
staff will accommodate special handling of tables. As a double check of table setup, please review your
author proofs carefully. Check alignment, lines, and spacing to ensure that no distortion of your meaning
has occurred. If incorrect placement is evident, carefully correct it on your proof copy.

4. Headings

There are two major kinds of headings used in tables:

1. column headings,
2. row headings.

Each type may contain or be made up of standard abbreviations. Always capitalize the first word or
abbreviation in all headings and subheadings.

1. Column headings are separated from the body of the table by a horizontal line. They are usually
dropped to the bottom of the heading area. However, units of measure that pertain to each entry in
a whole column should be included in parentheses and placed as the last entry in the heading on a
line by itself (sample 1) or spaced off from the heading on the same line (sample 2).


Sample 1
======================================
Branching
ratio
(%)
--------------------------------------
1
2
3
=======================================

Sample 2
=========================================
Ex (MeV) Jp
-----------------------------------------
2740 2-
4141 2-
=========================================

Use centering or straddle rules to group several subheadings under one main heading.

===============================================
Collimator
measurements

Off-axis point
No. Radius A(r) correction

of holes (mm) (counts) [Gp (r)/Gp' ]
-----------------------------------------------
x x x x
x x x x
===============================================

===========================================
e- +(e- e+ ) p+(pµ)
__________________
Parity ±1 +1 -1
-------------------------------------------
x x x x
x x x x
x x x x
x x x x
============================================

2. Row headings are read from left to right on one line. When used in the heading area they need a
diagonal line to separate them from any column headings.

The j heading refers to the 1 2 horizontal row; 1 and 2 in turn are column headings that read down
as does the i heading.

====================================================
j 1 2

i
----------------------------------------------------
1 0.3601 x 103 -0.5224 x 101
2 -0.2691 x 104 0.5130 x 102
3 0.7733 x 104 0.1717 x 103
====================================================

The PDF version of this table is also available.

In the body of a table, row headings have similar form. They are read left to right with any units of
measure enclosed in parentheses and separated by one space on the same line. To continue a
row heading or indicate a row subheading, indent the second line.

======================================================
xxx xxx
------------------------------------------------------
1. Counting:
a. Counting statistics in Table IV 0.017%
b. Error in counting estimate 0.02%
c. Error from estimate of 240 Pu 0.009%
======================================================

5. Entry lineup

The manner in which table entries are aligned in their columns will greatly affect the readability of a table.
For this reason use one or a combination of the following types of alignments.


1. Flush left. To be used in a situation where the entries are not similar and/or of different lengths. All
entries are flush left with the column heading centered over the column.

============================================
Interpretation
--------------------------------------------
J = 1 BE triplet
J = 0 BE singlet
BE states from splitoff
cf. B1 in Fig. 2
Second B1 replica
============================================

2. Center. An alternative to (1). Each entry is centered with the column heading centered.

==========================================
Mode
------------------------------------------
ß-
Stable
ß+
ß-
Stable
ß-
==========================================


3. Lineup by digit and/or decimal. To be used in a situation where all or most of the entries are
numbers. Align according to digit and/or decimal placement.

===========================================
Theory
1 2
-------------------------------------------
9.7 15.6
7.4 7.7
14.9 15.2
24.9 22.9
3.06 3.32
-0.74 -0.93
===========================================

4. Lineup by operator. To be used in a situation where most entries are similar and have some kind
of operator (multiplication, plus, minus signs, etc.) in common.

===========================================
1
-------------------------------------------
0.4557 x 101
-0.2051 x 101
-0.650 x 102
===========================================


5. Lineup by unit. To be used when the entries include different units of measurement [see example
(a)]. In other cases where all entries include the same unit, the unit designation should be removed
from the column entries, enclosed in parentheses, and made part of the column heading [see
example (b)]. Lineup will then be by operator, decimal, and/or digit as appropriate.

(a)
===========================================
Half-life
-------------------------------------------
41.3 ± 0.1 day
5.37 ± 0.009 day
11.05 ± 0.02 min
===========================================

(b)
============================================
Half-life
(day)
--------------------------------------------
41.3 ± 0.1
5.37 ± 0.009
11.05 ± 0.02
============================================

6. Combination of lineups. Whenever possible lineups (3), (4), and (5) should be used in conjunction.


=============================================
Neutron energy
---------------------------------------------
9840 ± 30 eV
10.34 ± 0.04 keV
10.50 ± 0.02 keV
=============================================

L. Figures

There are both style and technical considerations when preparing figures as part of an author-prepared paper.
Keep the following technical suggestions and basic style requirements in mind when designing and
composing figures.

1. Types of figures

1. Line drawings (original drawing or photograph of drawing). This kind of figure is considered the
most desirable. Use black ink on a white background. Submit original or glossy print only.

2. Continuous tone photograph (photographs that contain variations in tone). Do not screen. Submit
sharp glossy photographs.

3. Combination (composite figure, both line drawing or photograph and continuous tone photograph).
Prepare as separate figures. Submit two photographs, indicating that they are to be treated as one
figure. Include registration marks or instructions. Do not screen.

4. Machine-generated (computer output or material reproduced directly from automatic plotters).
Figures of this type are sometimes not acceptable because of unsuitable lettering size, lettering

quality, or curves that break up when the figure is reduced. Figures must have clear background
and unbroken lines with as much black and white contrast as possible.

2. Designing and labeling figures

1. Prepare figures on standard size paper (21×28 cm or 8.5×11 in.). Larger figures are easily
damaged by handling and smaller ones are sometimes overlooked or misplaced.

2. Size figures for reduction to journal column width, i.e., ~8.6 cm (~3.4 in.) or ~17.8 cm (~7.0 in.), and
single page or less length. The production staff photographically reduces all line drawings and
photographs, if they are in proper scale, to three basic sizes to fit within the following limits:
a. narrow, to fill the width of one column;
b. wide, to fill two columns; or
c. centered, with space on either side.
Figures will be treated as narrow unless flagged and identified as wide or centered in a cover
letter.

3. Make symbols, line thickness, and lettering in proper scale in relation to the overall figure size so
that reduction will not reduce clarity.

4. Avoid handlettering. Use of a mechanical device is strongly urged. Two sizes for lettering (one for
on-line lettering, the other for subscripts, superscripts, and data points) is strongly recommended.
Draw symbols and lettering so that after reduction the smallest of these, such as those used for
subscripts, etc., will not be less than 1.5 mm (1/16 in.) tall. Consider also that intricate symbols tend
to fill in when reduced. Solid or open symbols are easier to read.

5. Make line thickness consistent (solid and dark). Lines tend to become less distinct when reduced.

6. When shading is necessary, use diagonal or cross-hatched lines.

7. Figure labeling must be consistent with the rest of the paper. Use the same abbreviations,

symbols, and upper- and lowercase letters throughout.

8. Label parts of figures (a), (b), (c), etc.; curves A, B, C, etc.; geometric points, angles, and lines A,
B, C, etc.; or a, b, c, etc., as appropriate.

9. Treat graphs so that they are completely self-explanatory. Label each axis (horizontal and vertical)
with the quantity being plotted, including the appropriate units, which should be spaced off and
enclosed in bracketing, i.e., (deg). Do not use powers of 10 if possible; instead use the
appropriate prefixes of the Système International (see Table II). If powers of 10 cannot be avoided
the following form is preferred: R (10-4 ohm).

3. Identifying figures

Number each figure consecutively with an arabic numeral according to the order in which it is discussed
in the paper. Write the figure number and first author's name preferably on the bottom of each figure. If
not possible, write them on the back of the figure with a very soft pencil. This will ensure proper matching
of figure and text. All figures must be cited in consecutive order in text. For example, you could refer to
your first figure in one of these ways:

(a) Figure 1 shows experimental results.

(b) Experimental results are shown in Fig. 1.

Note that the word figure is written out when it begins a sentence, but it is abbreviated at other times. The
production staff will place each figure as close as possible to its original citation when designing the final
layout of the paper.

4. Figure captions

Give each figure a separate caption. Like a table caption, it should be concise. It may be made up in part
of an abbreviated sentence or group of sentences in a single paragraph. It must begin with FIG. (all

capital letters), followed by the appropriate arabic numeral and period, and then by the abbreviated
explanatory sentence or sentences.

FIG. 1. Plot of x2 against different values of Re[fN(0)]. Solid curves for the x plane; dot-dashed curves for
the z plane.

Within the explanatory material of a caption include definitions of all symbols, abbreviations, and
acronyms used in the figure that have not been previously defined in text. Also describe separate figure
parts or insets.

FIG. 1. Continuous line: solution of the Lippmann-Schwinger equation (13) with the use of dynamical self-
energy of Eq. (5). Broken line: static Coulomb wave function given by Eq. (9) of the text. The inset shows
the behavior in the near-surface region.

FIG. 1. Cluster geometries used for (a) substitutional site in bcc Fe, (b) octahedral interstitial site in bcc
Fe, (c) tetrahedral interstitial site in bcc Fe, and (d) octahedral interstitial site in fcc Co and Ni. Filled
symbols denote hydrogen positions and unfilled symbols show host-atom positions.

Style Guide TOC / APS Research Journals / The American Physical Society


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