40 years of Physica Scripta

Physica Scripta is an international journal published by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences since 1970. It covers all aspects of physics and is one of the few general (broadband) physics journals still around that publishes 'full-length' research papers. The involvement of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in scientific publication began in 1903 with Arkiv för matematik, astronomi och fysik. This journal collected results in the fields of mathematics, astronomy and physics. In 1949 it was divided into four independent journals: Arkiv för astronomi, Arkiv för fysik, Arkiv för geofysik and Arkiv för matematik. Subsequently, a total of 40 volumes of Arkiv för fysik were published until its replacement by Physica Scripta in 1970. When Physica Scripta was started, the emphasis was on articles contributed from the Scandinavian countries, including Finland. These restrictions on submissions became further evident when other Nordic science academies and physical societies were invited to participate in the publication process. Nowadays, the main journal, published in 12 monthly issues, carries the subtitle 'An international journal for experimental and theoretical physics' and is a truly international journal both in terms of circulation and of submitted and published articles. The contributions from the Nordic countries are now only a small part of the total published material. An experiment in 1974, publishing the proceedings of a Nobel Physics Symposium, led to the formation of a semi-independent journal, Physica Scripta Topical Issues (PSTOP). To date, over 138 volumes of PSTOPs have been published, mostly containing conference proceedings covering a wide range of topics. The annual Nobel Physics Symposium is usually published as one of these volumes. Beginning in 2003, Physica Scripta introduced a new section, Comments on Atomic and Molecular Physics. This has since expanded to five distinct sections of Comments: atomic, molecular and optical physics (CAMOP); condensed matter physics (CCMP); nuclear and particle physics (CNPP); plasma physics and controlled fusion (CPPCF); astrophysics and cosmology (CAC). These sections contain invited papers that provide an authoritative contribution by an acknowledged expert and are intended to provide insight into current problems, methods and results. In the publication process we collaborate with IOP Publishing, which ensures a fast and efficient manuscript management system and journal production, with both online and printed volumes. In 2010 Physica Scripta celebrates 40 years of successful publishing and we encourage physicists throughout the world to join us in celebrating this prestigious anniversary by submitting their contributions.