Journal of Optics A: Pure and Applied Optics

Edited by:
  • M. Bertolotti
Institute of Physics. 6/yr. North America $693, elsewhere £350

Journal of Optics B: Quantum and Semiclassical Optics

Edited by:
  • E. Arimondo
Institute of Physics. 6/yr. North America $573, elsewhere £289
Credit: DAVID NEWTON

While scientists love to argue, the proliferation of scientific journals is a topic that generates much consensus. The vast majority of my colleagues seem to agree that the number of journals is both too large and growing too rapidly. Besides the burdens that unchecked growth presents to economically pressed research libraries, the time spent by individual researchers in monitoring a large number of publications to keep abreast of developments in their field is of great concern.

A quick check of the list of journals with “optics” in the title in one form or another, available in print or electronically at my institution, resulted in 35 hits. It is therefore cause for some optimism when competing journals merge, with the goal of emphasizing quality, not quantity. Journal of Optics A: Pure and Applied Optics appeared in January 1999 as a merger of Journal of Optics (formerly Nouvelle Revue d'Optique) and Pure and Applied Optics. Journal of Optics B: Quantum and Semiclassical Optics is a relaunching of Quantum and Semiclassical Optics under a new title. Journal of Optics is now the official organ of the European Optical Society, published by the Institute of Physics in the UK.

It can be no secret that the intention is to launch a strong European competitor to The Journal of the Optical Society of America, A and B, which is second to none in terms of quality and prestige in the worldwide optics literature. Since optics research in Europe in no way lags behind that in North America, it is appropriate for the European optics community to publish its own flagship journal.

Although Journal of Optics has been published in its present form for less than a year, it is already a big success. It is attracting a large volume of high-quality work, although part B has had more success in securing long, fundamentally significant contributions than part A, which has an undue proportion of shorter, very specialized papers. Both parts are available in print and electronically. In comparison with The Journal of the Optical Society of America, on the other hand, Journal of Optics lags significantly in securing truly important new research results. This is no surprise given the journal's tender age. If the new journals continue to emphasize high editorial standards, the American and European journals are likely to attain a more equal footing in the future.