Important developments in Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and General

Abstract

There will be two important changes in the structure of this journal. From the first issue in January 2007 the name of the journal will be Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and Theoretical. Also, there will be a new section entitled `Fast Track Communications: Short Innovative Papers'. Letters to the Editor will no longer be published in the journal. Change of journal name. The new name, Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and Theoretical, is an accurate description of the content, nature and spirit of the journal as described in the scope statement on the inside front cover: `A major journal of theoretical physics reporting research on the mathematical structures that describe fundamental processes of the physical world and on the analytical, computational and numerical methods for exploring these structures.' The word `General' is no longer appropriate for the scope of this journal. This name change will have no effect on the subject material of the papers the journal publishes. Fast Track Communications: Short Innovative Papers. Beginning with issue 1 of the 2007 volume, the journal will publish a new article type, Fast Track Communications. Fast Track Communications (FTCs) are defined as outstanding short papers reporting new and timely developments in mathematical and theoretical physics. These high-quality articles will be of importance to readers of Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and Theoretical but are not expected to meet any criterion of `general interest'. Conjectural articles are welcomed. FTCs will be processed quickly and are available free to readers in the electronic journal. To facilitate a fast review process we urge authors of FTCs to restrict the length of their article to eight journal pages (5000 words). The key criteria for acceptance will be quality, novelty and timeliness. FTCs will be published at the front of the journal and will be free to readers through IOPSelect. Submissions are welcomed from 1 October 2006. For details of how to submit an FTC please visit the journal homepage, www.iop.org/journals/jphysa. For further information please contact the journal at jphysa@iop.org.