Submissions

Author Guidelines

Article Preparation

Dear Authors! Please pay attention to the preparation of a document on the possibility of publishing your article in the public domain. It must be attached to the materials when submitting an article to the journal.

Length of papers

Your article’s total character count should be between 10,000 and 80,000, including spaces. Please note that the total length of the article includes the text of the article and the notes (footnotes), as well as the figures, references and bibliography.

Formatting requirements

When preparing their articles, authors are advised to use the dedicated document templates that are available for download on our website. If you prefer not to use the templates, please consider the journal requirements when preparing your text. After your article is accepted for publication, it will be subjected to scholarly and literary editing and formatted in accordance with the layout of the journal.

Download the Article Template

Completeness and presentation of papers

1. Papers are presented as a single file in the .doc, .docx or .rtf format that includes the following parts in the following order:

• information about the author in English (see “Information about the author” section);
• universal decimal classification (UDC);
• title of the article, abstract and keywords in English (see “Title”, “Abstract” and “Keywords” sections);
• text of the article;
• additional information (mandatory sections are marked with an asterisk):
  (a)* “Conflict of interest”;
  (b) “Author contributions”;
  (c) “Acknowledgements”;
  (d)* “Funding”;

• references (see “Reference list” and “Transliteration of references” sections).

Main text, metadata and all other content—with the exception of information about the author—should be provided in English only.

2. To name the article file, use the author’s last name in Latin characters.

3. If the article text requires the use of non-standard fonts, formulas, complex formatting, etc., a .pdf file of the article text should be provided in addition to the .docx file. Authors are asked to provide the font files as well.

4. If the article contains illustrations, each should be provided as a separate .jpg, .jpeg or .png file (see Tables, Figures, Charts). To name the file, use the author's last name in Latin characters, space, Fig, sequence number, e.g. Avtor_Fig1. Any illustrations prepared in MS Word and containing text should be kept in the main file of the article.

5. When submitting your article, please attach the open publication clearance certificate indicating that the contents of your submission are not subject to any restrictions as intelligence making up state secret (Article 5 of the Law of the Russian Federation “On State Secrets”) or information classified as a state secret as specified in the Russian Federation Presidential Decree No. 1203 of 30 November 1995 and, as such, is not classified and may be published openly.

Format, font, paragraphs. The article should use Times New Roman, 14 pt; line spacing 1.5; full justification; paragraph indent 1.0 cm. Automatic hyphenation should be deactivated.

Information about the author

All information about the author should be stated on the first page of the article file sent to the editorial team. The information must include the following:

• the name of the author in full (if the name is natively written in non-Latin alphabet, the transliteration should match that used in other publications);
• the academic degree;
• the position, the name of the organization (place of work);
• the legal address of the organization (not of its subdivision!);
• the author's email address;
• the author’s ORCID.

If there are several authors, all of the above information is provided for each of them.

UDC index. The Universal Decimal Classification index should be specified on the left-hand side of the first page of the main text, giving an accurate reflection of the article’s subject. The UDC is used for article indexing and efficient retrieval.

Section. The relevant section should be specified under the UDC:

• Solid state physics;
• Physics of gases and liquids;
• Functional materials in electronics;
• Problems of physical experiment;
• Optics of condensed matter;
• Physics of elementary particles. Field theory. High energy physics;
• Cosmic rays. Relativistic astrophysics. Cosmology;
• Physics of atoms and molecules;
• Computer materials science;
• Interaction of laser radiation with matter.

Abstract. The abstract should precede the main text of the article and be separated from it graphically. The abstract should be at least 500 and not more than 1000 characters long, including spaces. The abstract should demonstrate the relevance of the study. Readers should be able to assess the subject, the course of the study and the conclusions reached by the author. Background information, general and insignificant statements, superfluous introductory words, etc., should be avoided.

Keywords. Keywords must follow the abstract, precede the main text of the article and be separated from both graphically. Please start the list of keywords with “Keywords:”. Your list should comprise between 5 and 10 keywords.

Structure. The text should have a clear structure, with sections and subsections reflecting the course of the research.

Formulae, Symbols, Equations

For mathematical formulae, use the Microsoft Word Equation Editor. In physics, mathematics and chemistry, use Latin and Greek characters only to represent any quantities, including subscripts.

Do not use one character to represent several quantities (e.g. n for carrier concentration, n as a variable exponent and n as a variable whole number, or x for the proportion of an element in In_xGa_1−xAs solid solution and x as the coordinate).

Do not use Cyrillic characters as symbols or include them in subscripts or superscripts.

The formulas and signs in your paper should follow the generally accepted rules of mathematical notation:

• Times New Roman typeface.
• Variables should be in italic. BUT: All upper-case Greek letters should be in roman, even if they are variables, e.g., Ψ is roman but ψ is italic; Ω is roman but ω is italic; a small change in x is Δx.
• Units should be in roman, e.g., 19 V (nineteen volts), 7 A (seven amps), 3 nm (three nanometers), 10 μΩ (ten micro-ohms).
• Functions should be in lowercase roman, e.g., lnx, sinθ, exp(iωt).
• Vectors and matrices should be in bold (not italic bold).
• Subscripts to variables should be in italic unless they are words or phrases, in which case they are in roman.

Tables, Figures, Charts

1. Axes labels and names of physical quantities in your figures should be given in English and in upright typeface (e.g. Intensity). In subscripts, as well as for the representation of physical quantities, Latin and Greek characters should be used. Physical quantities that are represented by letters should be given in italic (e.g. U, I, t). Use standard international symbols for physical quantities.

2. Tables should be found at the end of your article, following figure captions. Any figures or charts should be provided as separate files for easier layout.

3. Immediately after the paragraph in which a table, figure or chart is first mentioned, [Table X should be here] should be inserted on a separate line, with the relevant number.

4. The content of the table, figure or chart should be clear without referring to the main text of the article and should not be duplicated in it.

5. All tables, figures and charts are numbered continuously with Arabic numerals. If an article only contains a single table, figure or chart, it should not be numbered. Each table, figure or chart must have a title.

6. Pictures and diagrams should be provided as separate files in the JPG, JPEG or PNG format. Image quality should be high enough to ensure it remains clear after resizing. Resolution should be at least 300 dpi (dots per inch). Figure and table captions should be placed after the references, starting on a new page.

7. When using figures, photos or charts that have not been created by you, make sure that those images are published under an Open Access license and list all relevant information that is available:

• author’s name;
• year (if available);
• the name of the work (if available);
• a link to the page where the image is located;
• a note detailing your right to use the image (if available).

Quotations

1. All direct quotations must be given in quotation marks. Quoting word for word without quotation marks is not allowed.

2. Source should be stated in round brackets directly after the quote (see In-Text Citations). For literal quotations, page number must be stated, if present in the source.

3. Any quotations from the author’s own works should be treated similarly to others, properly cited and included into the references.

Page numbering. Numbers are placed at the bottom of the page (using footers).

Dates and numerals

1. Dates must be given in accordance with the following format: 5 August 1982.

2. Numbers one through ten are spelled out; numbers above ten are written as numerals.

3. Use Roman numerals for centuries and the following format for decades: the 1980s.

“Conflict of interest” section

In this section, the authors declare that there is no conflict of interest in regards to their submission. Recommended language: “The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest, either existing or potential.”

If a conflict of interest exists and might influence the reported results, it must be declared in this section.

“Author contributions” section

Please specify how each of the authors contributed to the submission. No particular format is required.

“Acknowledgements” section

In this section, please list individuals who assisted the authors in their research and/or working on the submission, but did not directly participate in its preparation or writing.

“Funding” section

In this section, please state your sources of funding for the study or lack thereof. Recommended language in case of no funding: “The study did not receive any external funding.”

If your study received external funding, please follow the reporting guidelines of the funding body.

In-text citations

1. For in-text citations, the author’s last name and year of publication should be stated in round brackets: (Author 2019).

When citing a specific fragment, state the page number after a comma: (Author 2019, 25).

If there are multiple works by the same author in the same year, they are ordered alphabetically by the title and are allocated a letter (a, b, c etc) after the date: (Author 2019a).

When citing a source with one or two authors, all authors’ names should be included. For more than three authors, only the first three names should be stated, followed by “et al”: (Author1, Author2, Author3 et al.). When citing a source divided into several parts or volumes, state the relevant part or volume number: (Bateman 1953, vol. 1).

2. When citing multiple sources, they should be separated by a comma and arranged in alphabetical order: (Anselm 1978; Bateman 1953, vol. 1, 50). If citing multiple works by the same author or authors, do not repeat their name or names: (Grib, Pavlov 2013a; 2013b; 2015a; 2015b).

3. When citing a source, always provide a full reference. Ibid, op. cit., etc. are not allowed.

Reference list

1. Make sure to prepare the reference list with the utmost attention. Any format inaccuracies may impede the cited sources’ tracking in databases, impacting the authors’ citation rate.

2. The reference list must include all sources cited in the article, whether directly or indirectly, and may not include any unmentioned works.

3. All references are given after the text of the article as an unnumbered list, arranged in alphabetical order by the author’s last name. If there are multiple sources by the same author, then citations are listed in order by the date of publication. If referencing multiple works from one author released in the same year, the works are allocated a letter (2000a, 2000b, 2000c) after the year.

4. All references should be given in Harvard referencing style. BSI standard is used for transliteration. At the end of each reference, please state the language you accessed the source in.

Journal titles should be provided in full. If present, always include DOI (as an active link). Journal, book and website titles are given in italics to visually distinguish them from article, chapter and section titles.

All sources that are originally in Russian should be transliterated. For names of authors, please transliterate names that are originally in Cyrillic alphabet and provide the original spelling for names in the Latin alphabet (e.g. Genette G., Barthes R. (French), Köstlin K. R. von (German, etc.) Please add “Publ.” to the titles of Russian publishing houses (e.g. “М.: Наука” = “Moscow: Nauka Publ.”). For organisations, only use official translations of the title.

If you reference any Russian-language sources, please use the translitonline.com website with the following settings:

ё — e;
ц — ts;
й — j;
щ — shch;
ий — ij;
ый — yj;
х — всегда kh (always kh).

Download the Citation Guide

Reference examples

Journal article

• Nikonorova, N. A., Kononov, A. A., Dao, T. H., Castro R. A. (2019) Molecular mobility of thermoplastic aromatic polyimides studied by dielectric spectroscopy. Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids, 511, 109–114. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnoncrysol.2018.12.032 (In English)
• Cha, D., Kim, H., Hwang, Y. et al. (2012) Fabrication of molded chalcogenide-glass lens for thermal imaging applications. Applied Optics, 51 (23), 5649–5656. https://doi.org/10.1364/AO.51.005649 (In English)
• Goryaev, M. A., Smirnov, A. P. (2015) Lyuminestsentsiya adsorbirovannogo na stearate serebra krasitelya i sensibilizatsiya fototermograficheskikh materialov [Luminescence of dye adsorbed on silver stearate and sensitization of photothermographic materials]. Izvestia Rossijskogo gosudarstvennogo pedagogicheskogo universiteta im. A. I. Gertsena — Izvestia: Herzen University Journal of Humanities & Sciences, 173, 50–54. (In Russian)

Book

• Kolobov, A. V., Tominaga, J. (2016) Two-dimensional tnransition-metal dichalcogenides. Berlin: Springer, 538 p. (In English)
• Oura, K., Lifshits, V. G., Saranin, A. A. et al. (2006) Vvedeniye v fiziku poverkhnosti [Introduction to surface physics]. Moscow: Nauka Publ., 490 p. (In Russian)

Book chapter

• Kolobov, A. V., Tominaga, J. (2012) Chalcogenides: Metastability and phase change phenomena. In: Methods of structure analysis. Berlin: Springer Science & Business Media, pp. 49–63. (In English)

Conference proceedings

• Castro, R. A., Kononov, A. A., Dao, T. H. et al. (2017) Dielectric and structural study of polymer composites based on polyethylene and barium titanate. In: International conference on functional materials, characterization, solid state physics, power, thermal and combustion energy: FCSPTC-2017. AIP Conference Proceedings. Eluru, Andhra Pradesh: AIP Publishing, p. 20002. (In English)

Online source

• Bryant, R. G. (2006) Polyimides. In: Encyclopedia of polymer science and technology. 4^th ed. [Online]. Available at: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/0471440264.pst272.pub2 (accessed 11.08.2020).

Submission of Papers

Articles prepared in accordance with the rules are sent to the editorial board via the file uploading system on the official website of the journal (physcomsys.ru). Physical copies will not be accepted.

No submission or publication fees are charged.

After the article is received, its compliance with the formal requirements will be checked within 15 days, followed by a single-blind peer review (see Review Statement).

Both the issue in which your article is published and the order of the articles are determined by the number of articles that have been submitted to different sections of the journal.