Physical Review B Acceptance Rate 2026: How Hard Is It to Get Published?

Decision cue: Physical Review B is the right venue for solid condensed matter and materials physics. If your paper is technically sound but narrower in scope than PRL requires, PRB is the standard destination.

Related: Physical Review B journal page • PRB review time • Physical Review Letters acceptance rate

Physical Review B acceptance rate runs around 60-65% for manuscripts that reach external peer review, but a significant fraction are desk rejected before that stage. Here's the full breakdown for condensed matter and materials physics authors.

The acceptance rate in context

PRB accepts roughly 60-65% of papers sent to reviewers. The overall acceptance rate from submission (including desk rejections) is closer to 50-55%.

To put it in perspective:

• Physical Review Letters: ~30% acceptance (much more selective)
• Physical Review B: ~50-55% overall acceptance
• Physical Review E: ~50-55% (similar model)
• npj Computational Materials: ~20-25% (more selective for computation)

PRB is less exclusive than PRL. It publishes a much higher volume of work and accepts papers that are technically solid contributions to condensed matter or materials physics, even without the broad significance PRL requires.

What Physical Review B publishes

PRB covers condensed matter physics and related materials physics: electronic structure, superconductivity, magnetism, semiconductors, surface physics, strongly correlated systems, topological materials, soft matter, and computational/theoretical condensed matter.

It does not publish applied engineering work without clear physics content, chemistry-forward materials research without condensed matter physics framing, or work squarely within the scope of other APS journals.

Desk rejection at Physical Review B

PRB has editors (associate editors from the physics community) who screen submissions before sending to reviewers. Desk rejection happens when:

Scope mismatch. Engineering papers without condensed matter physics content, pure chemistry, or work that belongs in Physical Review Applied or Physical Review Materials instead of PRB.

Below the technical threshold. PRB expects contributions that advance the understanding of condensed matter systems. Papers presenting results without sufficient theoretical framing, or experiments without careful characterization, often don't make it past editorial screening.

Direct overlap with published work. If a closely related result was recently published in PRB or a comparable journal, editors may reject without review on grounds of insufficient novelty.

Formatting and presentation problems. Not a common reason, but papers submitted without meeting APS submission standards can be returned.

Desk decisions typically arrive within 2-3 weeks.

The peer review process

PRB uses single-blind peer review with typically one or two external referees from the condensed matter community. Reviewers receive approximately 4-6 weeks to respond, with extensions routinely granted.

What reviewers look for:

Technical correctness comes first. Condensed matter physicists are rigorous about methodology. For experimental papers: sample characterization, measurement reproducibility, appropriate statistical treatment. For theoretical papers: correctness of derivations, appropriate approximations, comparison with experiment or prior theory.

Contribution to the field. PRB accepts papers that are clear advances within condensed matter, even if narrow. You don't need broad significance. You do need to show why your result matters to the community studying your system.

Connection to existing literature. PRB reviewers have deep familiarity with recent work in the field. Missing key references or failing to distinguish your work from prior results is a red flag.

Time to first decision

For papers entering full peer review, PRB typically takes 40-70 days to first decision. Based on author reports:

• Editorial screening: 10-20 days
• Reviewer recruitment and assignment: 5-10 days additional
• Review period: 30-45 days (often with extensions)
• Editorial decision after reviews: 5-10 days

Total: 50-80 days is common. Papers with reviewer delays or requests for extension can run longer.

This is slower than MDPI journals but consistent with other APS journals and society-published physics journals.

Decision outcomes

Accept: Clean acceptances are more common at PRB than at high-rejection journals. Papers with strong referee reports and no major technical concerns often get accepted after one round.

Minor revision: Requests for additional analysis, clearer presentation of data, or improved comparison with existing literature.

Major revision: New experiments, significant reanalysis, or substantial theoretical extension required.

Rejection with referee reports: Work is below the PRB threshold or needs fundamental rethinking. Reports are provided.

Rejection without review: Desk rejection, usually with a brief editorial note.

PRB has an appeals process. If you believe a decision was made in error (wrong referee, referee misunderstood key point), authors can appeal to the editor in chief. Appeals are occasionally successful when referee errors can be documented.

How selective is PRB really?

The 50-55% overall acceptance rate means PRB is not highly selective in absolute terms. Most technically sound condensed matter physics papers, with appropriate scope and adequate methodology, eventually find a home at PRB.

The selectivity is more about scope and minimum quality threshold than about competing with many other papers for limited slots. PRB publishes roughly 10,000-12,000 articles per year.

What PRB is not:

• A journal where impact and novelty drive selection (that's PRL)
• A journal where any technically correct paper will be accepted (that's some specialized open access journals)

What PRB is:

• The standard venue for solid, non-PRL-level condensed matter and materials physics research

Alternatives if PRB feels borderline

If your paper might not make PRB or you need options:

• Physical Review Materials (APS, IF 3.1) - applied materials physics, somewhat lower bar for pure physics content
• Physical Review Applied (APS, IF 4.0) - physics applied to technology
• npj Computational Materials (Nature, IF 9.4) - selective, computation-heavy materials physics
• Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter (IOP, IF 2.7) - broad condensed matter, similar tier
• European Physical Journal B (Springer, IF 1.8) - condensed matter, lower IF

What to check before submitting

Make sure your paper is clearly within condensed matter or materials physics scope. PRB does not compete with Physical Review Materials or Physical Review Applied - check which APS journal fits your work best before submitting.

Reference the most recent relevant papers. Reviewers will check this.

If you want an objective read before submitting, a Pre-Submission Diagnostic checks your manuscript against PRB's specific criteria.

The bottom line

Physical Review B's ~50-55% overall acceptance rate from submission reflects a journal that accepts technically sound condensed matter and materials physics without requiring the broad impact PRL demands. The desk rejection stage filters out scope mismatches and work below the minimum threshold. For solid but non-PRL work in condensed matter, PRB is the default venue.

Sources

• American Physical Society, Physical Review B editorial policies (March 2026)
• Clarivate Analytics, Journal Citation Reports 2024 (JIF 3.7, Q2)
• Author experience data from SciRev and physics forums
• Physical Review B journal overview
• Physical Review B review time 2026