Agent Skills
› brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills
› prl-scope-fit
prl-scope-fit
GitHub评估物理成果是否符合PRL的重要性与广泛兴趣标准，区分其适合PRL还是PR系列期刊。通过重要性、广泛性测试及压力测试判断受众广度，明确增量工作与突破性发现的界限，辅助决定投稿目标。
Trigger Scenarios
不确定成果是否属于增量性或过于专业化
无法向非本领域物理学家阐述成果价值
纠结于投PRL还是Phys. Rev.系列
编辑曾因重要性和广度问题拒稿类似工作
在投入精力制作图表和润色文字前，需确认投稿去向
Install
npx skills add brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills --skill prl-scope-fit -g -y
SKILL.md
Frontmatter
{
"name": "prl-scope-fit",
"description": "Use when deciding whether a physics result clears Physical Review Letters' importance-and-broad-interest gate, or whether it belongs in Physical Review A–E \/ PR Research. Diagnoses venue fit; does not write or frame the result."
}
PRL Scope Fit (prl-scope-fit)
When to trigger
- You suspect the result is solid but may be "incremental" or "specialist"
- You cannot articulate why a physicist outside your subfield should care
- A coauthor asks "PRL or Phys. Rev. B?"
- An editor has previously bounced similar work on importance/breadth grounds
- Before investing in figures and prose, you want a go / no-go on venue
The two-part gate (both must pass)
PRL publishes Letters across all of physics — condensed matter, AMO, particle/nuclear, gravitation/astro, statistical/soft, quantum information, and more. The gate is two tests, AND-ed:
- Importance — Does the result substantially advance its field? A genuinely new effect, a decisive measurement, a qualitative resolution of an open problem, a method that unlocks previously inaccessible regimes.
- Broad interest — Would physicists outside the immediate subfield want to know this? A result is broad if it changes how a neighboring community thinks, transfers a technique, or settles a question of general physical principle.
A correct, careful, but incremental result can pass rigor and still fail the gate. That is the most common PRL rejection mode and it is not a quality judgment — it is a venue judgment.
Decision table
| Situation | Verdict |
|---|---|
| New phenomenon / qualitative surprise + clear cross-subfield relevance | PRL — strong fit |
| Decisive measurement settling an open, widely-discussed question | PRL — strong fit |
| Method enabling a regime others could not reach, with general appeal | PRL — fit (frame the breadth) |
| Solid result, narrow audience, "next step" in an established program | Phys. Rev. A–E (subfield match) |
| Thorough archival study, full parameter sweeps, specialist detail | Phys. Rev. B/D/E / PR Research |
| Sound but inconclusive / preliminary; needs more data | PR Research or hold |
| Confirmation of an expected result with no new principle | Specialized PR journal |
How to stress-test the gate
- The neighbor test: name a specific physicist in a different subfield and state, in one sentence, why they would read this. If you cannot, broad interest is weak.
- The headline test: write the result as a one-line APS Physics highlight. If the headline is "we measured X more precisely," importance is likely incremental.
- The displacement test: what prior belief does this overturn, sharpen, or unlock? "Nothing, it extends" → specialist.
- The self-citation test: if the natural citing audience is only your own group and two others, breadth is narrow.
Checklist
- The single most important claim is stated in one sentence
- Importance is articulated (new effect / decisive measurement / unlocked regime), not just "novel"
- Broad interest is named for a concrete out-of-subfield audience
- You can name the prior belief the result changes
- You have honestly considered whether PR A–E / PR Research is the better venue
- If borderline, you have a breadth argument ready for the cover letter
Anti-patterns
- Equating novel with important — PRL rewards significance, not mere first-ness
- Claiming broad interest by listing applications that do not follow from the result
- Submitting a "letterized" version of a long specialist paper to dodge the breadth gate
- Ignoring that editors can decline a correct Letter purely on importance/breadth
Output format
【Central claim】one sentence
【Importance】new effect / decisive measurement / unlocked regime / resolves open question
【Broad interest】named out-of-subfield audience + why they care
【Prior belief changed】...
【Verdict】PRL strong / PRL with breadth framing / retarget to PR A–E / PR Research
【Next】prl-results-framing (if PRL) or retarget venue
Scope and venue norms are durable, but specific submission categories evolve — verify on the official APS / PRL author page.
Version History
- 1839142 Current 2026-07-05 14:12
