APSINVIN.TXT-- Guidelines For Preparing APS Meeting Abstracts Electronically ============================================================= This file contains instructions for preparing and submitting abstracts for APS meetings using the LaTeX markup package, as well as instructions for submitting these abstracts electronically (via email). Failure to follow these instructions may result in the rejection of your abstract. What Is Required Of You ======================= 1. Fill in the abstract template file. There are two major sections to the template, a section for administrative details, and a section containing the scientific content of the abstract itself. Please be aware of the size restriction, which is approximately 2400 characters. 2. After you have prepared the abstract and entered all the necessary information, submit the abstract to the APS Office by sending the completed template (a LaTeX file) via electronic mail. Instructions for sending submissions to the APS Office can be found in the section entitled "Submitting your abstract via email". The abstract template files are prepared using the syntax of a text processing system called LaTeX, and each individual item is identified by its own command (or piece of markup) in the LaTeX language. These items will be described in detail in the balance of this file. When received by the APS office, your electronic submission will be processed and printed. The complete text of the abstract will be printed in the program book and will appear in the on-line version of the Bulletin, found on the APS Home Page ("http://aps.org/"). The published abstracts are photo-typeset from the paper copy we produce from the electronic form you create. They are reduced and printed at roughly two-thirds original size. APS Electronic Abstract Markup Commands ======================================= This section describes the LaTeX commands (markup) that you will encounter in the template files. You do not have to be a regular LaTeX user in order to edit your abstract file with commands of this nature, so if you are not fluent in the LaTeX language you can still prepare and submit an abstract using this package. If your abstract does not require math or special symbols, ASCII text can be used to complete the template. If you are not able to view the abstract with a LaTeX viewer, make certain that the abstract body and footnotes do not total more than 2400 characters, including spaces. You may find the "LaTeX Command Summary" useful; it is available via anonymous FTP from ftp.shsu.edu or from nic.funet.fi. FTP instructions are given in the README file of this package. If you need to include any mathematics or special symbols, you'll likely need to look at the LaTeX manual; it is called "LaTeX: A Document Preparation System". LaTeX markup commands start with a backslash character "\", and often have arguments that are usually enclosed in braces "{}". Most of the text you will prepare for an abstract will probably be paragraphs - straight text - and this can be entered in the file in a "free form" way. There is a short list of commands for commonly-used symbols (including Greek letters) at the end of this file. For those of you familiar with LaTeX, please do not include any other major markup commands (such as \section) in your abstract. Also, there should not be any commands that change typesetting parameters such as paragraph indentation or type size. Please concentrate on the text that you are preparing; we will take care of how it looks. If you would like to run LaTeX on your abstract, you may do so using the apsabinv.sty file provided with the package. This file must be installed according to the directions in the README file. If you see an error message about an "Overfull \vbox ...", your abstract is probably too long; you should shorten it and try again. Electronic Abstract Template Commands ===================================== The commands discussed here are in the same order as they appear in the files. You should not re-arrange the commands in the file you prepare for your abstract. Items to be filled in by the author start in the left margin with "\". Some of the information is required, while some is optional or depends on the status of other items. Most of these commands take a single argument, enclosed in curly braces "{}". There are five statements in the template in which you should not alter the information in the braces. They are: \documentstyle[apsabinv]{article} \begin{document} \begin{abstract} \end{abstract} \end{document} The template instructions are divided into four sections: 1. Beginning of document 2. Administrative information 3. Scientific information 4. End of document Beginning of Document ===================== The first two commands in the file are: \documentstyle[apsabinv]{article} \nofiles These two commands are required and should be left unchanged. Administrative Information ========================== \MeetingID{} Identification for the meeting. This is a code, and it is critical that you use the proper value for the meeting you are submitting to. A list of Meeting ID codes may be found in the absinfo.txt file, which you can obtain by sending e-mail to abs-info@aps.org, including "info" in the text of your message. To enter the Meeting ID code into this line of the template, type in the curly braces thusly: \MeetingID{Mar95} \SpecialInstructions{} Give any special instructions, such as primary or supplemental abstract, special sequencing, etc. Scientific Information ====================== This is the "abstract" part of the abstract, and it includes the paper title, the author information, and the body of the abstract itself. Everything you enter from this point is subject to the standard APS abstract space restrictions. You can verify that your abstract meets the space requirements by viewing it with a LaTeX viewer. If this is not an option, make certain that the abstract body and footnotes do not total more than 2400 characters, including spaces. \Title{} The title of the abstract should be entered in mixed case. Do not underline. \AuthorSurname{} \AuthorGivenName{} \AuthorAffil{} The author's affiliation. It is APS policy that only one author be listed on an invited paper, and that should be the individual who was invited to present the paper. We recognize the need for an invited speaker to give credit to his/her collaborators and suggest that adequate credit can be given in a footnote, or if desirable, more comprehensive statements about where credit is due can be included in the body of the abstract. \begin{abstract} The abstract itself belongs in a LaTeX abstract environment, which is initiated by this statement. Do not delete or modify this statement. Since this statement initiates the LaTeX environment, you should NOT use the backslash character "\" at the beginning of each line of the abstract. Footnotes should be specified by embedding LaTeX's " \footnote{}" command at the appropriate place within the abstract text. The footnote text belongs in the curly braces. Do not supply a footnote number; it will be generated automatically. \end{abstract} This statement indicates the close of the LaTeX abstract environment. Do not delete or modify this statement. Following is a sample of this portion of a completed template: \begin{abstract} Accurate results for the ground-state energy and effective mass that extend smoothly into the strong coupling domain \footnote {R.P. Feynman, Phys Rev. 97, 660 (1955)} were obtained by a different choice of parameters in the trial actions in his path integral. \end{abstract} End of Document =============== \end{document} This line is REQUIRED. Leave it intact. Submitting Your Abstract Via Email ================================== You should submit your completed abstract (filled-in template) to the APS Office via electronic mail; DO NOT SEND A PAPER COPY AS WELL. Submit your abstract via e-mail to: absubinv@aps.org (for ABSTRACTS) Please do not send inquiries, problem reports, etc. to the above address. General correspondence can be sent to abs-help@aps.org (for CORRESPONDENCE) These are Internet addresses. If your computer sends and receives email through a "gateway", you will need to contact your system administrator for assistance. You should receive a message of acknowledgement via email within 24 hours of the arrival of your abstract. Problems To Be Aware Of, So You Can Avoid Them ============================================== For the most part, automatic abstract processing is quite successful. Here is a list of some of the problems that often have to be fixed manually. If you avoid these, the success rate will be higher. 1. Word processors cause the largest share of troubles. If you use the longer template (apsabfrm.tex) and edit it with a word processor that supports automatic word-wrap, be sure that comments in the file are not wrapped. We have changed all the files so the line lengths are less than 72 characters so that this will be alleviated. On the other hand, try to ensure that your abstract text is transmitted with physical line breaks (hard returns) in the file, to avoid long text lines getting truncated by mailer programs. For example, the composition window in Sun's mailtool will wrap lines on the screen, but won't insert returns prior to sending the message. If you use Word, WordPerfect, or another word processor, please be sure to save the file as an ASCII file (plain text, DOS text, etc.) 2. Some punctuation marks are special characters to LaTeX, and you must put a backslash (\) in front of them so the proper mark is placed in the text. You'd specify them like so: \& \$ \{ \} \% \# \_ 3. Please use mixed case in the title and author name. 4. Be careful not to add extra "{" or "}", except in pairs. 5. Please note that some lines in the file are not to be removed, edited, commented out, or otherwise trifled with. LaTeX Commands for Selected Special Symbols =========================================== Greek letters and most mathematical symbols must be identified descriptively in an electronic submission. Here is a list of some of the most commonly used symbols. These commands must all be given in LaTeX's "math" mode, i.e., between dollar signs ($); see the LaTeX user manual for additional information about math mode. Lower-case Greek letters. Note omicron is simply lower-case "o". \alpha \eta \nu \tau \beta \theta \xi \upsilon \gamma \iota o \phi \delta \kappa \pi \chi \epsilon \lambda \rho \psi \zeta \mu \sigma \omega Upper-case Greek letters. \Gamma \Lambda \Sigma \Psi \Delta \Xi \Upsilon \Omega \Theta \Pi \Phi Superscripts are indicated by a caret (shift-6): ^{SCRIPT}, e.g., $\pi r^{2}$. The example shown here is the formula for the area of a circle. LaTeX math mode (necessary for equations and super- and subscripts) is specified with the dollar signs; the lower case pi (\pi) and radius variable r have a space between them in the markup (it would not appear in the output), and the superscript 2 is the "argument" (enclosed in curly braces) to the superscript operator ^. Subscripts are indicated by an underscore: _{SCRIPT}, e.g., $J_{\nu}$. The abbreviation for Angstroms is indicated by \AA. Circular degrees can be specified with \deg, e.g., $45\deg$. Complete charts of symbols and markup names available in LaTeX are given at the end of the LaTeX Command Summary, which can be retrieved via anonymous FTP from ftp.shsu.edu or from nic.funet.fi. See the README file for details about retrieving it. The Command Summary must be processed with LaTeX and printed in order to be useful. Thank you for your cooperation, and good luck!