As a result of reviewing several aspects of our content, both in print and online, we have made some changes for 2008. These changes are described below.

Article numbering

Journal of Physics B: Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics (J. Phys B.) has moved from sequential page numbering to an article numbering system, offering advantages and flexibility for the publication process. For example, papers in special issues or sections can be published online as soon as they are ready, without having to wait for a whole issue or section to be allocated page numbers.

The bibliographic citation will change slightly. Articles should be referenced using the six-digit article number in place of a page number, and this number must include any leading zeros. For instance:

Surname X and Surname Y 2008 J. Phys. B: At. Mol. Opt. Phys. 41 015001

Articles will continue to be published on the web in advance of the print edition.

Subject sections

J. Phys. B has taken advantage of this new numbering scheme to introduce subject sections into which research papers are now categorized. While clarifying the scope of the journal, we hope that the journal content will become more readily accessible to our readers.

The subject sections are listed as follows:

• Atomic Physics
• Molecular Physics and Clusters
• Atomic and Molecular Collisions
• Cold Matter
• Optical and Laser Physics
• Quantum Optics, Information and Control
• Ultrafast, High-Field and X-Ray Physics
• Astrophysics and Plasma Physics

To find out to more information on the subfields associated with these subject sections, please follow link.

A new look and feel

J. Phys. B has moved from B5 (176 × 250 mm) single-column format, to approximate US Letter size (210 × 286 mm) double-column format. We believe that this change will benefit our readers by having them save paper when printing articles from the online journal and consequently it will help protect the environment.

Last, but not least, we have taken the opportunity to refresh the design of the journal cover to create a consistent look and feel across IOP Publishing's range of publications. We hope you like the new cover.

If you have any questions or comments about any of these changes, please contact us at jphysb@iop.org