Journal rankings · indicator year 2003
Choose a field to open its ranking, or a journal to find its row in its subfield’s list.
Subfield ranking · 2003
Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics journal rankings 2003
65 ranked journals · Subfield in Physics and Astronomy
Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics has 65 ranked journals in 2003. The median OJR rose 0.06 on 2002 to 0.64, below the world average of 1.00; Q1 starts at OJR 1.37. The top three are Reviews of Modern Physics, Reports on Progress in Physics, and Physical Review Letters.
Ranks and citation indicators: 2003. Journal access status and listed APC: source snapshot September 23, 2026.
Journals whose main subfield sits in this category and that published at least 30 citable documents (articles, reviews and conference papers) in 2000–2002, the window the 2003 score is computed on.
The OpenJournalRank Indicator (OJR) is a free, publicly available metric of a journal’s field-normalized citation impact, computed from open OpenAlex citation data. It compares citations to a journal’s papers from the previous three years with the world average for papers of the same subfield, year and type, so 1.00 is the world average and values can be compared across fields. It is computed with the NCI3 method.
The middle OJR among ranked journals in this category: half score higher, half lower. 1.00 is the world average for papers of the same subfield, year and type.
The dot is this category, the solid tick is the median of all ranked journals and the dashed line is the world average.
Share of ranked journals in this category that are fully open access, so every paper is free to read. Hybrid journals, which sell subscriptions and open single papers for a fee, are not counted.
Median list price of the article processing charge, in US dollars, among ranked journals in this category that list a price above zero. Journals with a listed APC of $0 and journals with no known price are left out of this median. The At a glance table below gives a second median that includes the $0 prices.
Subfields of Physics and Astronomy (8)
65 ranked journals
Filters
Rank is the position by OJR within the list on screen; 1 is the highest. | OJR is field-normalized 3-year citation impact: 1.00 is the world average for papers of the same subfield, year and type, so values compare across fields. The badge is the journal’s quartile in this list. | Citations per paper over a two-year window, counted from OpenAlex. It is not field-normalized, so compare it only between journals of the same field. ▲ or ▼ is the change from 2002. This is OpenJournalRank’s own count, not Clarivate’s Journal Impact Factor. | Citable documents (articles, reviews and conference papers) published in 2000–2002, the window the 2003 OJR is computed on. A journal needs at least 30 to be ranked. | Share of the journal’s 2000–2002 papers that are free to read in any open-access form. The green OA tag next to a title marks a fully open-access journal. | List price of the article processing charge in US dollars. “$0 listed” means the listed price is zero; a dash means no price is listed. | The line is the journal’s OJR from 2000 to 2003. | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1Reviews of Modern PhysicsAmerican Physical Society · United States | 20.05Q1 | 30.35 8.44 up from 2002 | 98 | 60% | — | ||
2Reports on Progress in PhysicsIOP Publishing · United Kingdom | 5.54Q1 | 7.99 0.85 up from 2002 | 111 | 71% | $4,680 | ||
3Physical Review LettersAmerican Physical Society · United States | 4.34Q1 | 6.75 0.09 up from 2002 | 9,330 | 57% | $3,750 | ||
4Progress in Surface ScienceElsevier BV · United Kingdom | 3.61Q1 | 2.95 0.36 down from 2002 | 77 | 6% | $4,130 | ||
5International Reviews in Physical ChemistryTaylor & Francis · United Kingdom | 3.35Q1 | 3.55 0.17 up from 2002 | 65 | 0% | — | ||
6Atomic Data and Nuclear Data TablesElsevier BV · United States | 2.92Q1 | 4.02 0.85 up from 2002 | 63 | 7% | $3,030 | ||
7Conference on Colour in Graphics Imaging and VisionSociety for Imaging Science and Technology | 2.20Q1 | 0.50no 2002 value | 124 | — | — | — | |
8Color and Imaging ConferenceUnited States | 2.11Q1 | 0.50 0.16 down from 2002 | 182 | 97% | — | ||
9New Journal of PhysicsOAIOP Publishing · United Kingdom | 1.80Q1 | 2.82 1.19 up from 2002 | 166 | 100% | $2,610 | ||
10The Journal of Physical Chemistry AAmerican Chemical Society · United States | 1.66Q1 | 2.72 0.14 up from 2002 | 4,585 | 5% | — | ||
11Physical review. B, Condensed matterAmerican Physical Society · United States | 1.64Q1 | 3.02 0.04 up from 2002 | 15,009 | 45% | — | ||
12The Journal of Chemical PhysicsAmerican Institute of Physics · United States | 1.50Q1 | 2.97no change | 7,681 | 19% | $3,500 | ||
13Europhysics Letters (EPL)Institute of Physics · France | 1.44Q1 | 2.01 0.29 down from 2002 | 1,524 | 79% | $1,895 | ||
14Journal of Computational ChemistryWiley · United States | 1.43Q1 | 2.76 0.78 up from 2002 | 597 | 7% | $4,520 | ||
15Annals of PhysicsElsevier BV · United States | 1.40Q1 | 2.38 0.88 up from 2002 | 266 | 71% | $3,160 | ||
16Physical Review AAmerican Physical Society · United States | 1.40Q1 | 2.68 0.04 up from 2002 | 4,726 | 54% | $2,675 | ||
17Journal of the Optical Society of America BOptica Publishing Group · United States | 1.37Q1 | 1.95 0.27 up from 2002 | 867 | 15% | — | ||
18Applied Physics BSpringer Science+Business Media · Germany | 1.29Q2 | 1.76 0.12 up from 2002 | 904 | 9% | $4,090 | ||
19Journal of the Optical Society of America AOptica Publishing Group · United States | 1.26Q2 | 1.97 0.19 up from 2002 | 872 | 11% | — | ||
20The European Physical Journal BSpringer Science+Business Media · France | 1.07Q2 | 1.13 0.34 down from 2002 | 1,491 | 48% | $3,490 | ||
21Annual Review of Physical ChemistryAnnual Reviews · United States | 0.99Q2 | 10.38 0.68 up from 2002 | 74 | 5% | — | ||
22Journal of Quantitative Spectroscopy and Radiative TransferElsevier BV · Netherlands | 0.97Q2 | 1.68 0.41 up from 2002 | 668 | 7% | $2,870 | ||
23Journal of Physics A Mathematical and GeneralInstitute of Physics · United Kingdom | 0.91Q2 | 1.40 0.03 up from 2002 | 2,563 | 82% | — | ||
24Physics Letters AElsevier BV | 0.90Q2 | 1.34 0.09 down from 2002 | 2,510 | 30% | $2,150 | ||
25The European Physical Journal DSpringer Science+Business Media · France | 0.89Q2 | 1.20 0.22 up from 2002 | 811 | 16% | $3,790 | ||
26Journal of Optics B Quantum and Semiclassical OpticsIOP Publishing · United Kingdom | 0.87Q2 | 1.09 0.08 down from 2002 | 417 | 64% | — | ||
27Molecular PhysicsTaylor & Francis · United Kingdom | 0.87Q2 | 1.55 0.35 up from 2002 | 994 | 6% | — | ||
28Journal of Physics B Atomic Molecular and Optical PhysicsIOP Publishing · United Kingdom | 0.85Q2 | 1.64no change | 1,552 | 64% | $3,325 | ||
29Journal of Electron Spectroscopy and Related PhenomenaElsevier BV · Netherlands | 0.84Q2 | 1.22 0.06 down from 2002 | 608 | 2% | $3,170 | ||
30Waves in Random MediaTaylor & Francis · United Kingdom | 0.75Q2 | 1.17 0.07 up from 2002 | 112 | 0% | — | ||
31Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern PhysicsElsevier BV · United Kingdom | 0.71Q2 | 0.97 0.47 up from 2002 | 125 | 10% | $2,700 | ||
32Journal of Optics A Pure and Applied OpticsSpringer Science+Business Media · United Kingdom | 0.69Q2 | 0.91 0.05 down from 2002 | 417 | 41% | — | ||
33Comptes Rendus PhysiqueOAAcadémie des sciences · France | 0.64Q2 | 0.71 0.71 up from 2002 | 140 | 60% | — | ||
34Journal of Modern OpticsTaylor & Francis · United Kingdom | 0.63Q3 | 0.78 0.03 up from 2002 | 1,045 | 13% | — | ||
35Physics-UspekhiInstitute of Physics · United Kingdom | 0.62Q3 | 1.05 0.15 up from 2002 | 416 | 7% | — | ||
36Journal of Molecular Structure THEOCHEMElsevier BV · Netherlands | 0.61Q3 | 1.05 0.12 up from 2002 | 1,546 | 7% | — | ||
37Color Research & ApplicationWiley · United States | 0.56Q3 | 0.66 0.12 up from 2002 | 397 | 2% | $3,180 | ||
38Journal of Experimental and Theoretical Physics LettersPleiades Publishing · United States | 0.55Q3 | 0.78 0.09 up from 2002 | 871 | 24% | — | ||
39Single MoleculesWiley · Germany | 0.55Q3 | 0.88 0.08 up from 2002 | 245 | — | — | ||
40Laser PhysicsIOP Publishing · Russia | 0.52Q3 | 0.63 0.14 down from 2002 | 54 | 0% | $3,325 | ||
41PhysChemCommRoyal Society of Chemistry · United Kingdom | 0.47Q3 | 0.60 0.34 up from 2002 | 67 | 0% | — | ||
42Foundations of PhysicsSpringer Science+Business Media · Netherlands | 0.45Q3 | 0.78 0.23 up from 2002 | 315 | 36% | $2,390 | ||
43Journal of Experimental and Theoretical PhysicsPleiades Publishing · United States | 0.40Q3 | 0.55 0.12 up from 2002 | 765 | 10% | — | ||
44Canadian Journal of PhysicsNRC Research Press · Canada | 0.40Q3 | 0.62 0.05 up from 2002 | 441 | 6% | — | ||
45Annalen der PhysikWiley · Germany | 0.39Q3 | 0.61 0.13 up from 2002 | 351 | 27% | $3,840 | ||
46Physical Review BAmerican Physical Society · United States | 0.35Q3 | 0.32 0.01 down from 2002 | 226 | 1% | $2,675 | ||
47Zeitschrift für Naturforschung ADe Gruyter · Germany | 0.35Q3 | 0.46 0.08 up from 2002 | 479 | 100% | $2,712 | ||
48Contributions to Plasma PhysicsWiley · Germany | 0.30Q3 | 0.50 0.09 up from 2002 | 485 | 3% | $2,930 | ||
49Brazilian Journal of PhysicsSpringer Science+Business Media · Brazil | 0.30Q3 | 0.29 0.35 down from 2002 | 363 | 99% | $3,290 | ||
50Acta Physica Polonica AOAPolish Academy of Sciences · Poland | 0.26Q4 | 0.51 0.17 up from 2002 | 605 | 100% | — |
Subfields of Physics and Astronomy, with Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics highlighted.
- Astronomy and Astrophysics68
- Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics65
- Nuclear and High Energy Physics55
- Statistical and Nonlinear Physics30
- Radiation16
- Condensed Matter Physics7
- Acoustics and Ultrasonics0
- Instrumentation0
Journals
Citations made in 2003. Corpus-wide, 70.2% of core-journal articles and reviews published that year have at least one matched reference; the share varies by journal and field.
18 additional Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics journals with metrics are unranked under this release’s eligibility rules: a journal needs at least 30 citable documents in 2000–2002, at least 80% of them with a subfield, and a positive world-average expectation. Ranks are within the whole category; filters hide rows without re-ranking. OJR excludes self-citations.
At a glance
Indicator year: 2003. Publication window: 2000–2002. How these summaries are calculated
- Ranked journals
- 65
- Window papers (baseline)
- 89,035 +5.1% from indicator year 2000
- Median OJR
- 0.642 -9.5% from indicator year 2000
- Rising journals (2025)
- 5
Window papers are the baseline paper population: citable papers (articles, reviews and conference papers) from 2000–2002 in all journals of the world-average baseline, including non-core journals, counted by each paper’s own subfield. They are not the papers of the ranked journals alone.
| Measure | Year series | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ranked journals | 57 | 64 | 62 | 65 | 65 | 66 | 68 | 70 | 70 | 73 | 72 | 71 | 78 | 81 | 85 | 87 | 89 | 91 | 92 | 97 | 105 | 103 | 103 | 108 | 107 | 105 | |
| Window papers (baseline) | 84,695 | 86,753 | 86,412 | 89,035 | 91,151 | 95,706 | 100,546 | 106,715 | 110,735 | 112,436 | 112,382 | 112,245 | 113,539 | 114,815 | 116,212 | 117,514 | 117,344 | 117,182 | 115,527 | 113,962 | 112,377 | 111,323 | 110,326 | 106,860 | 103,126 | 100,852 | |
| Median OJR | 0.710 | 0.60 | 0.59 | 0.642 | 0.640 | 0.77 | 0.807 | 0.783 | 0.89 | 0.86 | 0.84 | 0.95 | 0.83 | 0.778 | 0.82 | 0.813 | 0.79 | 0.80 | 0.76 | 0.75 | 0.706 | 0.67 | 0.662 | 0.68 | 0.657 | 0.70 |
How to read these rankings
- OJR, the OpenJournalRank Indicator
- A field-normalized 3-year citation impact, computed from OpenAlex with the NCI3 method. It divides the citations a journal’s papers received by the world average for papers of the same subfield, year and type, so 1.00 is the world average and 2.00 means twice as many citations as expected. Because it is normalized, it can be compared across fields. Read the methodology
- Quartiles
- Q1 to Q4 split the ranked journals of the list you are viewing into four equal groups by OJR. A journal’s quartile depends on the list: the same journal can be Q1 in its subfield and Q2 among all journals.
- Impact factor (2-year)
- Citations per paper over a two-year window, counted from OpenAlex. It is easy to compare with familiar impact factors but is not field-normalized, so compare it only within a field. It is not Clarivate’s Journal Impact Factor. Why it differs from the Journal Impact Factor
- Rank ranges
- Each rank in the latest year carries a likely range from 1,000 resamples of the journal’s papers. Where two journals’ ranges overlap, the data cannot tell them apart, so treat neighbouring ranks as ties.