Table of Contents

Criteria for Publication

APL Quantum considers manuscripts for publication that meet the following criteria:

• Report research in quantum theory and fundamentals, quantum phenomena and resources, applied quantum science, and quantum technologies.
• Contain novel and high-quality research that is of interest to the broad quantum research community.
• Demonstrate results supported by rigorous data and draw appropriate conclusions from the described methods and analysis.

The journal welcomes manuscripts with “theory-only” research that advance our understanding of fundamental quantum aspects.

Format and Content

APL Quantum will publish the following article types:

Articles contain novel and significant findings relevant to many researchers in the field. The timeliness, relevance of the research, and clarity of presentation are important factors that we consider when evaluating Article submissions. Articles should include sufficient experimental information to allow other researchers to reproduce the reported results. Authors may include supplementary material, including video or other multimedia files.

Reviews are succinct overviews that provide historical background and detail recent progress in topics covered by the journal’s scope. These are by invitation only. Reviews should be written in a way that enhances or introduces the work to researchers in the field. Authors who wish to submit a review article without invitation must provide a strong case for why their review is timely and of interest to the readership of APL Quantum. Authors can download the pre-submission proposal form and submit the completed form to [email protected] or directly contact [email protected] for further information.

Perspectives cover emerging topics or highlight a recent discovery. These are by invitation only. They provide a forward-looking discussion on the direction of a particular sub-field. Perspectives differ from Reviews in that they can present personal viewpoints from leaders in the field.

Tutorials have a strong educational focus and are meant to provide an overview of the fundamental principles and techniques which are important within a given field or sub-field. These articles should be particularly useful for students and/or senior researchers looking to increase their understanding of a field that is new to them. These are by invitation only.

A Roadmap is a type of review article. This article type combines multiple sections, each written by different authors. The content of a Roadmap should focus on the status, advances, challenges, and future directions of subtopics within a field from multiple expert perspectives. As a united review, the Roadmap should provide a high-level overview of the field as a whole. Roadmaps should be composed when there is a need or opportunity for useful discussion and evaluation of the field. If you are interested in submitting a roadmap to APL Quantum please contact the editorial team for the appropriate next steps at [email protected].

APL Quantum encourages authors to submit high-quality images to be considered for the cover of the issue, video, or other multimedia files to highlight on the journal webpage.

Manuscript Length: There is no length limit in this journal; however, manuscripts should be concise and present a clear description of the research for reproducibility. As a guideline, the main text of an article should contain approximately 3500 words, excluding the title and references. For guidance on Perspectives, the main text should contain less than 5500 words. Reviews, Tutorials, and Roadmaps are recommended to be up to 8000 words. In these papers, please insert section headings to structure the content and guide the reader.

Data Availability and Reporting Standards

AIP Publishing believes that science should be shared as widely as possible, and we actively support sustainable models of access to research that ensure the permanence, discoverability, and reuse of published work. All data, methods, and models should be well documented and described either in the main text of the article or supporting information to provide the research community with enough transparency and detail to effectively replicate the findings and reuse results to further their research.

APL Quantum recommends that authors make any new data publicly available on a repository of the author’s choosing at the time of submission. Authors are encouraged to disclose any reasons that the material cannot be made available to readers to the editors.

The Review Process

The editor-in-chief, aided by the associate editors, is responsible for the content and editorial matters related to APL Quantum. To identify papers that meet the journal’s publication standards, the editors initially screen all submitted manuscripts. Manuscripts that pass the screening are evaluated by expert referees through single anonymized review. Referees’ identities are confidential. Generally, two referees are sought, but decisions on publication may be made with additional reviews if required. Generally, we decide whether to publish a manuscript after one or two rounds of review. We will allow additional reviews if deemed necessary by the editors.

Language Standard

It is the authors’ responsibility to ensure that manuscripts are written clearly. A manuscript can be rejected if the scientific meaning is unclear due to poor English. Manuscripts that do not meet APL Quantum’s language standard will be returned to the authors for rewrite before peer review, during the review process and/or if provisionally accepted pending language editing.

Because good science has no value unless it is clearly communicated, AIP Publishing recommends that authors use AIPP Author Services to improve the quality of your paper’s written English. Using this service ensures that your paper will be free of language deficiencies, so editors and reviewers will be able to fully understand your research during the review process. A native English-speaking subject matter expert of AIP Author Services will correct spelling, grammar and punctuation and verify the use and consistency of technical terms and content in your paper. Note that this is not a requirement or a guarantee of acceptance for review or publication.

Transfers

If your manuscript is not accepted for publication in APL Quantum, an editor may recommend a transfer to another AIP Publishing journal for immediate consideration. In some cases, the transfers are offered after consultations with the editors of other AIP Publishing journals.

If you choose to transfer your manuscript, all reviewer reports and editor recommendations will be transferred along with the manuscript. Please visit the receiving journal's website for more information. Manuscripts must meet the receiving journal’s acceptance criteria. Note that there is no guarantee that the receiving journal will publish a transferred manuscript. A list of AIP Publishing journals and descriptions can be found here.

The Appeals Process

Authors may appeal a decision to reject a manuscript. To submit an appeal, authors can visit the APL Quantum submission site. To receive further consideration, the authors should request a formal appeal with justification for why the manuscript requires further consideration. If referee reports were included with the rejection letter, the comments must be addressed in the appeal request.

Once an appeal is submitted, the editors will collate all information relevant to the manuscript, including the cover letter, communications with the authors, and referee reports, if any. This information is discussed with the Editor-in-Chief, editors who worked on the manuscript, and any relevant Editorial Board members. When reviewing an appeal, any member of the Editorial Board with a real or perceived conflict of interest will not participate. The discussion will focus on the manuscript under consideration, the range of submissions the journal receives in the area, the overall status of the field, and the editors’ expectations for a paper in the area.

Successful appeals focus on clarifying the suitability or importance of the work if the editors rejected your manuscript because it did not fit APL Quantum’s criteria for publication. If the editors rejected your manuscript based on technical issues, your appeal must rebut the technical issues raised in the referee’s reports. In your appeal, please address APL Quantum’s acceptance standards. Also, keep in mind that because your manuscript was initially rejected, you must provide an insight or argument that goes beyond what the editor has already learned through the review process, thereby compelling the editor to conclude that your manuscript deserves further consideration.

Consider the following points when making an appeal:

1. Do not include a simple revision of the manuscript to address referees’ comments. If a simple revision would have addressed the main issue, the editors would have returned your manuscript and allowed you to update it. Do include a strong argument for why the editors should reconsider your manuscript.
2. Do not resubmit the manuscript under a new manuscript number, even if it has been updated in response to reviewers’ comments. The editorial office rejects resubmissions; instead, use the appeal process to request that the editors reconsider your manuscript.
3. Do not reinterpret the referees’ reports for the editors. Do provide the editors with new information or insights that might lead them to reconsider publishing your manuscript.
4. Do not provide a list of articles on the same topic that have recently been published in APL Quantum. Do provide information that supports the novelty and importance of your work.

Retraction and Correction Policies

AIP Publishing’s policy is based on best practices in academic publishing. We take our responsibility to maintain the integrity and thoroughness of the scholarly record of our content seriously. We place great importance on the accuracy of published articles. Authors may make changes to articles after they have been published online only under the circumstances outlined in AIP Publishing’s Retraction and Correction Policies.