Journal rankings · indicator year 2024
Choose a field to open its ranking, or a journal to find its row in its subfield’s list.
Subfield ranking · 2024
Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics journal rankings 2024
107 ranked journals · Subfield in Physics and Astronomy
Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics has 107 ranked journals in 2024. The median journal has an OJR of 0.66, below the world average of 1.00, down 0.02 on 2023; Q1 starts at OJR 1.47. The top three are Reviews of Modern Physics, Advances in Optics and Photonics, and eLight.
Ranks and citation indicators: 2024. 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 2021–2023, the window the 2024 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)
107 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 2023. This is OpenJournalRank’s own count, not Clarivate’s Journal Impact Factor. | Citable documents (articles, reviews and conference papers) published in 2021–2023, the window the 2024 OJR is computed on. A journal needs at least 30 to be ranked. | Share of the journal’s 2021–2023 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 2015 to 2024. | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1Reviews of Modern PhysicsAmerican Physical Society · United States | 17.69Q1 | 44.59 7.13 down from 2023 | 102 | 37% | — | ||
2Advances in Optics and PhotonicsOptica Publishing Group · United States | 8.90Q1 | 31.77 0.77 down from 2023 | 37 | 36% | — | ||
3eLightOASpringer Nature · Singapore | 8.24Q1 | 33.63 5.59 up from 2023 | 55 | 100% | $0 listed | ||
4Nature PhotonicsNature Portfolio · United Kingdom | 6.36Q1 | 22.22 0.16 up from 2023 | 561 | 36% | $12,690 | ||
5Reports on Progress in PhysicsIOP Publishing · United Kingdom | 5.43Q1 | 17.65 0.96 up from 2023 | 126 | 80% | $4,680 | ||
6PhotoniXOASpringer Nature · Singapore | 5.34Q1 | 19.77 1.83 up from 2023 | 87 | 100% | $2,239 | ||
7Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews Computational Molecular ScienceWiley · United States | 5.23Q1 | 26.10 9.04 up from 2023 | 153 | 52% | $5,230 | ||
8SciPost Physics CodebasesOAPublisher not listed | 4.98Q1 | 13.69 7.31 down from 2023 | 45 | 100% | — | ||
9Light Science & ApplicationsOASpringer Nature · United Kingdom | 4.67Q1 | 18.07 0.63 up from 2023 | 849 | 100% | $4,190 | ||
10Physical Review XOAAmerican Physical Society · United States | 3.76Q1 | 13.00 3.42 up from 2023 | 677 | 100% | $4,200 | ||
11Progress in Quantum ElectronicsElsevier BV · United Kingdom | 3.49Q1 | 14.62 5.71 up from 2023 | 42 | 48% | $4,090 | ||
12Nature PhysicsNature Portfolio · United Kingdom | 3.23Q1 | 9.58no change | 1,112 | 42% | $12,690 | ||
13OpticaOAOptica Publishing Group · United States | 2.75Q1 | 9.34 0.02 down from 2023 | 646 | 100% | $3,208 | ||
14Ultrafast ScienceOAAmerican Association for the Advancement of Science · China | 2.73Q1 | 8.89 5.21 down from 2023 | 71 | 100% | — | ||
15Physical Review LettersAmerican Physical Society · United States | 2.63Q1 | 8.32 0.41 up from 2023 | 6,711 | 51% | $3,750 | ||
16Light Advanced ManufacturingOAChina | 2.51Q1 | 9.25 1.10 up from 2023 | 129 | 100% | — | ||
17Nature Reviews PhysicsNature Portfolio · United Kingdom | 2.30Q1 | 14.65 3.68 down from 2023 | 389 | 28% | — | ||
18Ukrainian Journal of Physical OpticsOAUkraine | 2.03Q1 | 8.00 2.82 down from 2023 | 95 | 100% | — | ||
19Advances in Physics XOATaylor & Francis · United Kingdom | 1.88Q1 | 8.34 2.66 up from 2023 | 101 | 100% | $1,895 | ||
20Photonics ResearchOptica Publishing Group · United States | 1.84Q1 | 7.49 0.23 up from 2023 | 917 | 9% | — | ||
21Communications PhysicsOANature Portfolio · United Kingdom | 1.84Q1 | 6.06 0.46 up from 2023 | 963 | 100% | $3,990 | ||
22AAPPS bulletinOASpringer Nature · South Korea | 1.65Q1 | 4.73 0.32 down from 2023 | 97 | 100% | $2,190 | ||
23SciPost PhysicsOASciPost.org · Netherlands | 1.64Q1 | 4.91 0.20 up from 2023 | 1,029 | 100% | — | ||
24APL PhotonicsOAAIP Publishing · United States | 1.57Q1 | 5.86 0.10 down from 2023 | 464 | 100% | $2,750 | ||
25Advanced Photonics NexusOAPublisher not listed | 1.52Q1 | 5.64 0.69 up from 2023 | 97 | 100% | — | ||
26Science China Physics Mechanics and AstronomySpringer Science+Business Media · China | 1.48Q1 | 5.92 1.41 up from 2023 | 600 | 24% | $3,590 | ||
27Journal of Chemical Theory and ComputationAmerican Chemical Society · United States | 1.47Q1 | 5.66 0.06 down from 2023 | 1,955 | 51% | $4,500 | ||
28Journal of Physics PhotonicsOAIOP Publishing · United Kingdom | 1.41Q2 | 7.51 3.06 up from 2023 | 147 | 100% | $2,700 | ||
29Atomic Data and Nuclear Data TablesElsevier BV · United States | 1.39Q2 | 4.44 1.76 up from 2023 | 57 | 40% | $3,030 | ||
30Frontiers of PhysicsHigher Education Press · China | 1.29Q2 | 5.04 0.24 up from 2023 | 316 | 40% | $3,890 | ||
31Physical Review ResearchOAAmerican Physical Society · United States | 1.19Q2 | 4.15 0.49 up from 2023 | 3,577 | 100% | $2,625 | ||
32AVS Quantum ScienceUnited States | 1.19Q2 | 2.96 1.70 down from 2023 | 164 | 51% | — | ||
33Journal of Computational ChemistryWiley · United States | 1.13Q2 | 5.01 1.36 up from 2023 | 602 | 65% | $4,520 | ||
34Physical Review AppliedAmerican Physical Society · United States | 1.11Q2 | 4.38 0.30 up from 2023 | 2,748 | 31% | — | ||
35SciPost Physics CoreOASciPost.org · Netherlands | 1.03Q2 | 3.05 0.67 up from 2023 | 178 | 100% | — | ||
35Quantum FrontiersOASpringer Science+Business Media | 1.03Q2 | 3.56 1.99 up from 2023 | 43 | 100% | $0 listed | ||
37Annals of PhysicsElsevier BV · United States | 0.96Q2 | 2.91 0.37 up from 2023 | 703 | 37% | $3,160 | ||
38The European Physical Journal PlusSpringer Science+Business Media · Germany | 0.93Q2 | 3.15 0.22 up from 2023 | 3,681 | 24% | $3,890 | ||
39Chinese Physics LettersInstitute of Physics · United Kingdom | 0.92Q2 | 4.02 0.66 up from 2023 | 697 | 36% | $2,500 | ||
40Communications in Theoretical PhysicsInstitute of Physics · China | 0.85Q2 | 2.80 0.49 up from 2023 | 626 | 54% | — | ||
41New Journal of PhysicsOAIOP Publishing · United Kingdom | 0.82Q2 | 2.81 0.23 up from 2023 | 1,741 | 100% | $2,610 | ||
42Natural SciencesOAWiley · Germany | 0.81Q2 | 2.97no change | 81 | 100% | $3,430 | ||
43Frontiers in PhysicsOAFrontiers Media · Switzerland | 0.78Q2 | 2.40 0.11 down from 2023 | 2,985 | 100% | $3,077 | ||
44Journal of the European Optical Society Rapid PublicationsOASpringer Nature | 0.78Q2 | 3.43 1.25 up from 2023 | 90 | 100% | $1,921 | ||
45Annual Review of Condensed Matter PhysicsAnnual Reviews · United States | 0.78Q2 | 22.14 7.43 up from 2023 | 52 | 100% | — | ||
46The Journal of Physical Chemistry AAmerican Chemical Society · United States | 0.73Q2 | 2.86 0.01 down from 2023 | 2,907 | 34% | — | ||
47Journal of Quantitative Spectroscopy and Radiative TransferElsevier BV · Netherlands | 0.73Q2 | 2.26 0.61 down from 2023 | 924 | 53% | $2,870 | ||
48Physical Review AAmerican Physical Society · United States | 0.72Q2 | 2.84 0.26 up from 2023 | 6,797 | 29% | $2,675 | ||
49Color and Imaging ConferenceUnited States | 0.71Q2 | 0.36 0.11 down from 2023 | 138 | 84% | — | ||
50Electronic StructureIOP Publishing · United Kingdom | 0.70Q2 | 2.81 0.09 down from 2023 | 156 | 76% | $3,325 |
Subfields of Physics and Astronomy, with Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics highlighted.
- Astronomy and Astrophysics109
- Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics107
- Nuclear and High Energy Physics64
- Statistical and Nonlinear Physics48
- Radiation26
- Condensed Matter Physics7
- Acoustics and Ultrasonics0
- Instrumentation0
Journals
Citations made in 2024. Corpus-wide, 87.1% of core-journal articles and reviews published that year have at least one matched reference; the share varies by journal and field.
12 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 2021–2023, 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: 2024. Publication window: 2021–2023. How these summaries are calculated
- Ranked journals
- 107
- Window papers (baseline)
- 103,126 -7.4% from indicator year 2021
- Median OJR
- 0.657 -1.6% from indicator year 2021
- Rising journals (2025)
- 5
Window papers are the baseline paper population: citable papers (articles, reviews and conference papers) from 2021–2023 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.