Electronic Author Status Inquiry System

Effective 1 August 1995, authors of many manuscripts under consideration by APS journals will be able to obtain immediate information on the status of their papers via electronic mail or the World Wide Web -24 hours a day, seven days a week - via a new, automatic Author Status Inquiry System.

Information will be available regarding manuscripts submitted to Physical Review A, C, D, E, and Letters. Physical Review B is not included (it is currently understaffed and its editors are reluctant to introduce a perturbation in its editorial process at this time; they intend to await the results of the experiments being performed in the other journals). Comments and Replies are not included for any journal (the consideration of these is sufficiently complex as to defy easy summary via an automatic program, at least in this initial release).

To use the system via electronic mail: send an email message to status@aps.org. Use as the subject line the manuscript code number followed by the last name of the first author (for example: LA1234 Jones). The body of the message should be empty (no human will read it).

To access the Author Status System via the World Wide Web, follow the Journals Information button on the APS Home Page whose URL is http://www.aps.org.

This system is intended to better serve authors and to reduce greatly the time staff must devote to answering status inquiries by phone or email. The information supplied by the automatic system is drawn from the same database as used by those responding to such inquiries. In nearly all cases, the automatic system will supply at least as much information as has been available via phone or email query in the past; in most cases, MORE information will be available. Therefore:

To inquire regarding status of a paper, ALWAYS (after 1 August) first use the automatic system.

To obtain clarification of the information obtained from the automatic system, DO NOT TELEPHONE.

To request clarification, authors may use a service available on the Web interface or send an email message to prX@aps.org (where X = a, c, d, e, or l and denotes the journal considering the manuscript); use the manuscript code followed by the last name of the first author as the subject line (for example, Status LA1234 Jones).

Responses to messages to prX@aps.org will require human action, and should be expected within a few days. Please do not send such messages unless necessary, as that would defeat the purpose of the automatic system.

In addition to showing information about the status of the review process, the automatic system will display the following information from the database concerning the manuscript: Title; authors; addresses (postal and email); phone, and FAX numbers of authors; journal section; and PACS numbers. Authors will have an opportunity to check this information and, as needed, submit corrections, via a service available on the Web interface or an email message to prX@aps.org with subject line (for example, Correction LA1234 Jones).

General comments and suggestions regarding this system are encouraged. Use a service available on the Web interface, or send an email message to feedback@aps.org (do not use this address for communications regarding a specific manuscript). Comments will be collected and reviewed, but not necessarily acknowledged or responded to.