Journals

This page is meant to provide an overview of (scientific) journals of relevance for fusion and plasma physics, along with a description of their focus and impact (IF = Impact factor). Such a list could be helpful to choose the optimal forum for a publication. It is in need of expansion (please help).

Fusion and plasma physics

Journal (publisher)	Description	IF (year)
Nuclear Fusion (IOP)	The journal covers all aspects of research, theoretical and practical, relevant to controlled thermonuclear fusion.	3.307 (2016) 3.5 (2023)
Plasma Sources Science and Technology (IOP)	A single interdisciplinary forum for physicists, engineers and materials scientists working in the increasingly significant field of low-temperature plasma science.	3.302 (2016) 3.3 (2023)
Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion (IOP)	Covering all aspects of the physics of hot, highly ionised plasmas in the laboratory, the ionosphere and in space as well as in magnetic and inertial-confinement fusion.	2.392 (2016) 2.1 (2023)
Physics of Plasmas (AIP)	Physics of Plasmas, published by the American Institute of Physics with the cooperation of The American Physical Society, Division of Plasma Physics, is devoted to original experimental and theoretical contributions to the physics of plasmas.	2.115 (2016) 2.0 (2023)
Journal of Nuclear Materials (Elsevier)	The Journal of Nuclear Materials publishes high quality papers in materials research for nuclear applications, primarily fission reactors, fusion reactors, and similar environments including radiation areas of charged particle accelerators.	2.048 (2016)
Plasma (MDPI)	Plasma is an international, open access, peer-reviewed journal covering all aspects of plasma science, published quarterly online by MDPI.	1.9 (2023)
Contributions to Plasma Physics (Wiley)	Basic physics of low-temperature plasmas; Strongly correlated non-ideal plasmas; Plasma discharges - microplasmas, reactive, and atmospheric pressure plasmas; Plasma diagnostics; Plasma-surface interaction; Plasma technology; Plasma medicine	1.44 (2016)
Journal of Plasma Physics (Cambridge)	JPP aspires to be the intellectual home of those who think of plasma physics as a fundamental discipline. The journal will particularly focus on publishing research on laboratory plasmas, space physics and plasma astrophysics that takes advantage of the rapid ongoing progress in instrumentation and computing to advance fundamental understanding of multiscale plasma physics. The Journal welcomes submissions of analytical, numerical and experimental work: both original research and tutorial- or review-style papers, as well as proposals for its Lecture Notes series.	1.16 (2016)
Fusion Engineering and Design (Elsevier)	The journal accepts papers about experiments (both plasma and technology), theory, models, methods, and designs in areas relating to technology, engineering, and applied science aspects of magnetic and inertial fusion energy.	1.14 (2016)
IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science (IEEE)	Plasma science and engineering, including: magnetofluid dynamics and thermionics; plasma dynamics; gaseous electronics and arc technology; controlled thermonuclear fusion; electron, ion, and plasma sources; space plasmas; high-current relativistic electron beams; laser-plasma interactions; diagnostics; plasma chemistry and colloidal and solid-state plasmas.	1.052 (2016)
Plasma Physics Reports (Springer)	The journal covers the following topics: high-temperature plasma physics related to the problem of controlled nuclear fusion based on magnetic and inertial confinement; physics of cosmic plasma, including magnetosphere plasma, sun and stellar plasma, etc.; gas discharge plasma and plasma generated by laser and particle beams. The journal also publishes papers on such related topics as plasma electronics, generation of radiation in plasma, and plasma diagnostics.	0.984 (2016)
Journal of Fusion Energy (Springer)	The Journal of Fusion Energy features contributions and review papers pertinent to the development of thermonuclear fusion as a useful power source. Intended to serve as a journal of record for publication of research results, the journal also provides a forum for discussion of the broader policy and planning issues that have played, and will continue to play, a crucial role in the fusion program.	0.858 (2016)
Plasma Science and Technology (IOP)	PST publishes novel experimental and theoretical results showing progress of interdisciplinary and application sciences in the fields related to plasma physics.	0.83 (2016)
Fusion Science and Technology (ANS)	Fusion Science and Technology (FST) is the leading source of information on fusion plasma physics and plasma engineering, fusion plasma enabling science and technology, fusion nuclear technology and material science, fusion applications, fusion design and system studies.	0.578 (2016)
Radiation Effects and Defects in Solids (Taylor & Francis)	The Journal covers a wide range of topics under radiation and plasma sciences. The range of contributions encompasses: radiation physics; radiochemistry, radiobiology and physical effects of medical irradiation, including research on radiative cell degeneration; optical, electrical and mechanical effects of radiation, and their secondary effects such as diffusion and particle emission from surfaces; plasma techniques and plasma phenomena. On plasma science the Journal covers all areas of fusion, space and low temperature plasmas.	0.443 (2016)
Plasma and Fusion Research (Japan Society of Plasma Science and Nuclear Fusion Research)
Journal of Plasma and Fusion Research SERIES (Japan Society of Plasma Science and Nuclear Fusion Research)

Computation

Journal (publisher)	Description	IF (year)
Computer Physics Communications (Elsevier)	Computer Physics Communications publishes research papers and computer program descriptions in computational physics and physical chemistry: the focus is on computational methods and techniques rather than results.	3.936 (2016)
Journal of Computational Physics (Elsevier)	Journal of Computational Physics thoroughly treats the computational aspects of physical problems, presenting techniques for the numerical solution of mathematical equations arising in all areas of physics. The journal seeks to emphasize methods that cross disciplinary boundaries.	2.744 (2016)

General physics

Journal (publisher)	Description	IF (year)
Reviews of Modern Physics (APS)	Reviews of Modern Physics (RMP) is the world’s premier physics review journal and the most highly cited Physical Review publication. Written by leading international researchers, RMP’s in-depth essays provide outstanding coverage of a topic and give context and background for current research trends.	36.917 (2016)
Nature Physics	Nature Physics publishes papers of the highest quality and significance in all areas of physics, pure and applied. The journal's content reflects core physics disciplines, but is also open to a broad range of topics whose central theme falls within the bounds of physics. Theoretical physics, particularly where it is pertinent to experiment, also features.	22.806 (2016)
Physical Review Letters (APS)	Physical Review Letters (PRL) is the world’s premier physics letter journal and the American Physical Society’s flagship publication. Since 1958 it has contributed to APS’s mission to advance and diffuse the knowledge of physics by publishing seminal research by Nobel Prize–winning and other distinguished researchers in all fields of physics.	8.462 (2016)
Physical Review E (APS)	Physical Review E, interdisciplinary in scope, focuses on many-body phenomena, including recent developments in quantum and classical chaos and soft matter physics. It has sections on statistical physics, equilibrium and transport properties of fluids, liquid crystals, complex fluids, polymers, chaos, fluid dynamics, plasma physics, classical physics, and computational physics. In addition, the journal features sections on two rapidly growing areas: biological physics and granular materials.	2.366 (2016)
Europhysics Letters (IOP)	EPL publishes original, high-quality Letters in all areas of physics, ranging from condensed matter topics and interdisciplinary research to astrophysics, geophysics, plasma and fusion sciences, including those with application potential.	1.957 (2016)
Review of Scientific Instruments (AIP)	Review of Scientific Instruments (RSI) publishes novel advancements in scientific instrumentation, apparatuses, techniques of experimental measurement, and related mathematical analysis.	1.515 (2016)
European Physical Journal D (Springer)	Atomic, Molecular, Optical and Plasma Physics	1.288 (2016)
Physica Scripta (IOP)	Physica Scripta, endorsed by The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, is an international journal dedicated to presenting novel and accessible research findings across the breadth of theoretical and experimental physics.	1.28 (2016)
European Journal of Physics (IOP)	With a world-wide readership and authors from every continent, European Journal of Physics is a truly international journal dedicated to maintaining and improving the standard of taught physics in universities and other higher education institutes.	0.614 (2016)

General science

Journal (publisher)	Description	IF (year)
Nature		40.137 (2016)
Science		37.205 (2016)

On-line publications

Journal (publisher)	Description	IF (year)
ArXiV	Non-refereed preprint service

Impact factors

Older journal impact factors can be found here:

• Impact Factors 1992-2009 (zip file, 23 MB)
• Impact Factors 1979-1997 (zip file, 115 MB)

Note

Journal abbreviations in citations are standardized. Consult the LTWA.

See also

Books