Journal rankings · indicator year 2012
Choose a field to open its ranking, or a journal to find its row in its subfield’s list.
Subfield ranking · 2012
Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics journal rankings 2012
78 ranked journals · Subfield in Physics and Astronomy
Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics has 78 ranked journals in 2012. The median OJR fell 0.12 on 2011 to 0.83, below the world average of 1.00; Q1 starts at OJR 1.28. The top three are Reviews of Modern Physics, Reports on Progress in Physics, and Nature Photonics.
Ranks and citation indicators: 2012. 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 2009–2011, the window the 2012 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)
78 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 2011. This is OpenJournalRank’s own count, not Clarivate’s Journal Impact Factor. | Citable documents (articles, reviews and conference papers) published in 2009–2011, the window the 2012 OJR is computed on. A journal needs at least 30 to be ranked. | Share of the journal’s 2009–2011 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 2003 to 2012. | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1Reviews of Modern PhysicsAmerican Physical Society · United States | 32.46Q1 | 47.07 0.40 down from 2011 | 168 | 83% | — | ||
2Reports on Progress in PhysicsIOP Publishing · United Kingdom | 8.82Q1 | 15.12 1.77 down from 2011 | 137 | 74% | $4,680 | ||
3Nature PhotonicsNature Portfolio · United Kingdom | 7.06Q1 | 11.00 0.83 down from 2011 | 835 | 23% | $12,690 | ||
4Nature PhysicsNature Portfolio · United Kingdom | 6.94Q1 | 11.12 0.27 up from 2011 | 897 | 41% | $12,690 | ||
5Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews Computational Molecular ScienceWiley · United States | 4.61Q1 | 8.18no 2011 value | 100 | 11% | $5,230 | — | |
6Progress in Surface ScienceElsevier BV · United Kingdom | 4.32Q1 | 7.35 1.82 down from 2011 | 33 | 15% | $4,130 | ||
7Physical Review LettersAmerican Physical Society · United States | 3.96Q1 | 8.12 0.53 up from 2011 | 10,383 | 73% | $3,750 | ||
8Physical Review XOAAmerican Physical Society · United States | 3.92Q1 | 6.54no 2011 value | 39 | 100% | $4,200 | — | |
9International Reviews in Physical ChemistryTaylor & Francis · United Kingdom | 2.85Q1 | 5.28 1.33 down from 2011 | 43 | 12% | — | ||
10Laser Physics LettersIOP Publishing · Germany | 2.35Q1 | 4.98 6.07 down from 2011 | 436 | 54% | $3,325 | ||
11Journal of Computational ChemistryWiley · United States | 2.34Q1 | 3.48 1.58 down from 2011 | 812 | 24% | $4,520 | ||
12Journal of Chemical Theory and ComputationAmerican Chemical Society · United States | 2.33Q1 | 5.68 0.19 down from 2011 | 1,122 | 31% | $4,500 | ||
13New Journal of PhysicsOAIOP Publishing · United Kingdom | 2.32Q1 | 4.22 0.36 down from 2011 | 2,399 | 100% | $2,610 | ||
14Annals of PhysicsElsevier BV · United States | 1.62Q1 | 3.08 0.36 up from 2011 | 393 | 69% | $3,160 | ||
15Physical Review BAmerican Physical Society · United States | 1.49Q1 | 4.01 0.09 up from 2011 | 18,120 | 65% | $2,675 | ||
16Digital Holography and Three-Dimensional ImagingPublisher not listed | 1.49Q1 | 0.41no 2011 value | 113 | — | — | ||
17Europhysics Letters (EPL)Institute of Physics · France | 1.40Q1 | 2.56 0.10 up from 2011 | 2,612 | 73% | $1,895 | ||
18The Journal of Physical Chemistry AAmerican Chemical Society · United States | 1.39Q1 | 2.99 0.15 down from 2011 | 5,262 | 13% | — | ||
19Physical Review AAmerican Physical Society · United States | 1.35Q1 | 3.25 0.11 up from 2011 | 8,262 | 70% | $2,675 | ||
20The Journal of Chemical PhysicsAmerican Institute of Physics · United States | 1.28Q1 | 3.25 0.26 down from 2011 | 7,527 | 32% | $3,500 | ||
21Journal of Quantitative Spectroscopy and Radiative TransferElsevier BV · Netherlands | 1.25Q2 | 2.48 0.43 down from 2011 | 706 | 14% | $2,870 | ||
22BiointerphasesAmerican Institute of Physics · Germany | 1.22Q2 | 2.45 0.05 down from 2011 | 86 | 100% | — | ||
23Journal of the Optical Society of America BOptica Publishing Group · United States | 1.21Q2 | 2.52 0.02 down from 2011 | 1,230 | 21% | — | ||
24Color and Imaging ConferenceUnited States | 1.17Q2 | 0.39 0.13 down from 2011 | 174 | 91% | — | ||
25Physics Letters AElsevier BV | 1.13Q2 | 1.83 0.04 up from 2011 | 2,687 | 31% | $2,150 | ||
26Journal of OpticsIOP Publishing · United Kingdom | 1.12Q2 | 2.18 0.31 up from 2011 | 614 | 44% | $3,325 | ||
27Conference on Colour in Graphics Imaging and VisionSociety for Imaging Science and Technology | 1.11Q2 | 0.39 0.07 up from 2011 | 82 | 98% | — | ||
28Journal of Optics A Pure and Applied OpticsSpringer Science+Business Media · United Kingdom | 1.07Q2 | —no 2011 value | 316 | — | — | ||
29Comptes Rendus PhysiqueOAAcadémie des sciences · France | 1.05Q2 | 1.93 0.31 up from 2011 | 254 | 46% | — | ||
30Journal Club for Condensed Matter PhysicsPublisher not listed | 1.02Q2 | 1.72 1.17 down from 2011 | 67 | 100% | — | ||
31Journal of Physics B Atomic Molecular and Optical PhysicsIOP Publishing · United Kingdom | 1.02Q2 | 1.96 0.01 down from 2011 | 1,600 | 60% | $3,325 | ||
32Applied Physics BSpringer Science+Business Media · Germany | 1.00Q2 | 1.84 0.30 down from 2011 | 1,440 | 20% | $4,090 | ||
33Journal of Physics A Mathematical and TheoreticalInstitute of Physics · United Kingdom | 1.00Q2 | 1.65 0.03 up from 2011 | 2,925 | 87% | $3,325 | ||
34The European Physical Journal PlusSpringer Science+Business Media · Germany | 0.96Q2 | 1.65no 2011 value | 130 | 30% | $3,890 | — | |
35The European Physical Journal BSpringer Science+Business Media · France | 0.92Q2 | 1.42 0.35 down from 2011 | 1,171 | 43% | $3,490 | ||
36Journal of the Optical Society of America AOptica Publishing Group · United States | 0.92Q2 | 1.92 0.13 up from 2011 | 983 | 23% | — | ||
37Physics-UspekhiInstitute of Physics · United Kingdom | 0.91Q2 | 1.79 0.01 down from 2011 | 451 | 24% | — | ||
38The European Physical Journal DSpringer Science+Business Media · France | 0.88Q2 | 1.74 0.22 up from 2011 | 971 | 28% | $3,790 | ||
39Journal of Electron Spectroscopy and Related PhenomenaElsevier BV · Netherlands | 0.84Q2 | 1.65 0.08 down from 2011 | 358 | 10% | $3,170 | ||
40Foundations of PhysicsSpringer Science+Business Media · Netherlands | 0.82Q3 | 1.56 0.29 up from 2011 | 341 | 77% | $2,390 | ||
41Molecular PhysicsTaylor & Francis · United Kingdom | 0.82Q3 | 1.64 0.38 down from 2011 | 894 | 18% | — | ||
42Annual Review of Physical ChemistryAnnual Reviews · United States | 0.80Q3 | 14.40 2.32 up from 2011 | 54 | 28% | — | ||
43Atomic Data and Nuclear Data TablesElsevier BV · United States | 0.78Q3 | 0.98 1.04 down from 2011 | 73 | 43% | $3,030 | ||
44Annual Review of Condensed Matter PhysicsAnnual Reviews · United States | 0.77Q3 | 12.22 0.94 down from 2011 | 55 | 0% | — | ||
45Journal of Experimental and Theoretical Physics LettersPleiades Publishing · United States | 0.71Q3 | 1.58 0.38 up from 2011 | 863 | 25% | — | ||
46Journal of Molecular Structure THEOCHEMElsevier BV · Netherlands | 0.70Q3 | 1.34 0.18 down from 2011 | 849 | 0% | — | ||
47Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern PhysicsElsevier BV · United Kingdom | 0.70Q3 | 1.33 1.54 down from 2011 | 92 | 18% | $2,700 | ||
48Science China Physics Mechanics and AstronomySpringer Science+Business Media · China | 0.69Q3 | 1.33 0.30 up from 2011 | 724 | 6% | $3,590 | ||
49Journal of Modern OpticsTaylor & Francis · United Kingdom | 0.66Q3 | 1.21 0.02 up from 2011 | 806 | 20% | — | ||
50Advances in Physical ChemistryHindawi Publishing Corporation · United Kingdom | 0.63Q3 | 1.33 0.57 up from 2011 | 51 | 100% | — |
Subfields of Physics and Astronomy, with Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics highlighted.
- Astronomy and Astrophysics94
- Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics78
- Nuclear and High Energy Physics68
- Statistical and Nonlinear Physics34
- Radiation23
- Condensed Matter Physics6
- Acoustics and Ultrasonics0
- Instrumentation0
Journals
Citations made in 2012. Corpus-wide, 75.7% of core-journal articles and reviews published that year have at least one matched reference; the share varies by journal and field.
25 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 2009–2011, 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: 2012. Publication window: 2009–2011. How these summaries are calculated
- Ranked journals
- 78
- Window papers (baseline)
- 113,539 +1.0% from indicator year 2009
- Median OJR
- 0.83 -3.2% from indicator year 2009
- Rising journals (2025)
- 5
Window papers are the baseline paper population: citable papers (articles, reviews and conference papers) from 2009–2011 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.