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March 2003

Bylines in Physical Review Letters

Physical Review Letters allows a limited number of byline formats. The first is the traditional one, with the names of all authors from a single institution (or set of institutions) grouped together followed by the name and location of their institution(s), then, if any, the names of all authors from another institution (or set), and so on. As a variant on this form, it is permissible to have two groups from a single institution. This is to be discouraged, however, as it tends to imply invidious distinctions.

A second possibility is to list all authors together, and then list all institutions. In this form, there is no identification of which author is at which institution.

The third possibility is to list all authors together, and all the institutions together, but with a key to link each author to his institution. The key consists of a superscript numeral as preface to each institution; each author's name then carries the appropriate superscript to identify his or her institution.

It is permitted to use a collective name as an author. In this case, however, there must be a footnote to the "author's" name, listing the persons who make up the collective. It is also permitted to give a group name in addition to the usual set of authors' names in the second and third possibilities given above. The group name is put in parentheses, between the end of the list of authors and the beginning of the list of institutions.

Organization names should be given "from the inside out"---that is, the lowest level first, then the next higher, etc., with the overall institution name last. All words must be written out in full, with obvious exceptions for cases in which an abbreviation has become an official name, as for IBM or CERN. Street addresses, post office boxes, etc., may be included; ZIP and postal codes are proper.

Footnotes to bylines are indicated by superscript symbols in the following order: asterisk, dagger, double dagger, section, parallel, paragraph, and then each paired with itself, if there are 12 or fewer; a, b, c, etc., if there are 13 or more. These footnotes are to be used only to give additional information about an author's location or affiliation, or contact information, not for acknowledging support or such matters. Footnotes giving alternate addresses should begin with an appropriate indicator of the content, such as "Present address", "Visitor from", or "Electronic address." A footnote may designate a contact person by the wording "Spokesperson" or "To whom correspondence should be addressed." When several authors are from different divisions within a single institution, the byline address can be merely the name of the overall institution, and the individual authors may have footnotes to their names giving the names of the respective divisions, with no introductory indicator.