American Physical Society

Physical Review Letters Template

Write in a clean editor, then format for Physical Review Letters in one click — DocuGuru applies the official American Physical Society template with numbered references and exports a submission-ready PDF plus the editable LaTeX source. Free to start.

About the Physical Review Letters format

Physical Review Letters is a peer-reviewed journal published by American Physical Society, covering Physics of Superconductivity and Magnetism, Quantum and electron transport phenomena, Particle physics theoretical and experimental studies. Over its lifetime it has published 146,205 papers, which have received 13,412,356 citations.

PublisherAmerican Physical Society
Reference styleNumbered (APS)
Numbered — [1], [2] in the text
[1] A. Smith, B. Jones, and C. Lee, Physical Review Letters 12, 45 (2023).

Formats any DOI in Physical Review Letters style. No sign-up.

Publishes research inPhysics of Superconductivity and Magnetism Quantum and electron transport phenomena Particle physics theoretical and experimental studies Cold Atom Physics and Bose-Einstein Condensates Quantum Chromodynamics and Particle Interactions
ISSN0031-9007
Citation impact (2-yr)8.23
h-index979
i10-index121,061
Article processing charge$3,750
Top institutions publishing hereCentre National de la Recherche Scientifique
Journal websitejournals.aps.org
You getA submission-ready PDF and the editable LaTeX source — ready to submit.

Papers published in Physical Review Letters per year

3.1K
2014
2.7K
2015
2.5K
2016
2.6K
2017
2.9K
2018
2.8K
2019
2.9K
2020
2.5K
2021
2.1K
2022
2.2K
2023
2.5K
2024
3.3K
2025

Citation impact of Physical Review Letters by publication year

280.6K
2014
239.5K
2015
233.9K
2016
210.3K
2017
224.6K
2018
188.4K
2019
159.6K
2020
109.7K
2021
66.2K
2022
57.8K
2023
40.4K
2024
17.4K
2025

Citations each year’s papers have accumulated so far — the most recent years are still building up.

Most-cited papers in Physical Review Letters

Generalized Gradient Approximation Made Simple

John P. Perdew, Kieron Burke, Matthias Ernzerhof · 28 Oct 1996

Generalized gradient approximations (GGA's) for the exchange-correlation energy improve upon the local spin density (LSD) description of atoms, molecules, and solids. We present a simple derivation of a simple GGA, in which all parameters (other than those in LSD) are fundamental constants. Only general features of the detailed construction underlying the Perdew-Wang 1991 (PW91) GGA…

212,890 citations Cite SaveGo to paper →
Atomically Thin <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"> <mml:msub> <mml:mi>MoS</mml:mi> <mml:mn>2</mml:mn> </mml:msub> </mml:math> : A New Direct-Gap Semiconductor

Kin Fai Mak, Changgu Lee, James Hone et al. · 24 Sep 2010

The electronic properties of ultrathin crystals of molybdenum disulfide consisting of N=1,2,…,6 S-Mo-S monolayers have been investigated by optical spectroscopy. Through characterization by absorption, photoluminescence, and photoconductivity spectroscopy, we trace the effect of quantum confinement on the material's electronic structure. With decreasing thickness, the indirect band gap, which lies below the direct gap in the…

15,223 citations Cite SaveGo to paper →
Raman Spectrum of Graphene and Graphene Layers

Andrea C. Ferrari, Jannik C. Meyer, Vittorio Scardaci et al. · 30 Oct 2006

Graphene is the two-dimensional building block for carbon allotropes of every other dimensionality. We show that its electronic structure is captured in its Raman spectrum that clearly evolves with the number of layers. The D peak second order changes in shape, width, and position for an increasing number of layers, reflecting the change in the…

14,945 citations Cite SaveGo to paper →
Atomic Force Microscope

G. Binnig, C. F. Quate, Ch. Gerber · 3 Mar 1986

The scanning tunneling microscope is proposed as a method to measure forces as small as ${10}^{\ensuremath{-}18}$ N. As one application for this concept, we introduce a new type of microscope capable of investigating surfaces of insulators on an atomic scale. The atomic force microscope is a combination of the principles of the scanning tunneling microscope…

14,446 citations Cite SaveGo to paper →

Physical Review Letters template — frequently asked questions

How do I write a paper in the Physical Review Letters format?
In DocuGuru you write your manuscript in a normal editor — no LaTeX setup required — and select the Physical Review Letters template. When you export, DocuGuru compiles the paper into the official American Physical Society format and hands you a submission-ready PDF along with the editable LaTeX source.
What reference style does Physical Review Letters use?
Physical Review Letters uses Numbered (APS) references, shown as numbered [1], [2] markers in the text. DocuGuru formats every in-text citation and the reference list in this exact style automatically. A reference appears like this: [1] A. Smith, B. Jones, and C. Lee, Physical Review Letters 12, 45 (2023).
Do I need to know LaTeX to submit to Physical Review Letters?
No. DocuGuru generates the revtex4-2 LaTeX class and compiles the PDF for you in the background, so you get a American Physical Society-ready Physical Review Letters document without writing any LaTeX. If you do want it, the LaTeX source is included in the export.
Can I import an existing draft into the Physical Review Letters template?
Yes. Paste or upload your current manuscript — Word, LaTeX, Markdown, or plain text — and DocuGuru reflows it into the Physical Review Letters format with correct headings, figures, tables, and numbered citations.
What is Physical Review Letters?
APS Physical Review Letters. It is a physics journal, published by American Physical Society.
Can I export a submission-ready Physical Review Letters PDF?
Yes — DocuGuru produces a PDF built with the official Physical Review Letters template (the revtex4-2 class) that is ready to submit to American Physical Society, together with the matching LaTeX source files.
How much does the Physical Review Letters template cost?
You can start writing in the Physical Review Letters template for free. Exporting the final submission-ready Physical Review Letters PDF and LaTeX source is part of DocuGuru's paid plans — see the app for current pricing.
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