We are pleased to announce that Filippo Radicchi assumed the position of Associate Editor at PRE, effective June 3rd, 2024.

When determining the authorship list for your next paper, be generous yet disciplined.

We are pleased to announce that Dario Corradini assumed the position of Chief Editor at PRE, effective April 29, 2024.

Photon correlation spectroscopy is used to examine microscopic dynamics of Brownian suspensions within small spherical droplets. The authors first validate the setup and then demonstrate the method with a study of the shrinking and swelling of millimeter-sized polymer hydrogel beads. Their space-resolved measurements provide new information on microscopic rearrangements occurring during gel swelling.

The authors introduce a model for B cell affinity maturation, the process by which a B cell acquires specificity for an introduced antigen. They consider how vaccination with two antigens with the same subdominant antigenic region affects the antibody pool. Their results suggest guidelines for preparation of antigen cocktails that generate broadly neutralizing antibodies.

APS congratulates Andrea Marcello Mambuca, Chiara Cammarota, and Izaak Neri as the recipients of the 2024 Irwin Oppenheim Award for best paper by early career scientists published in Physical Review E.

This paper investigates, by means of an analytically solvable one-dimensional model, the dissipation in a turbulent, nearly collisionless plasma. When applying a stochastic, external electric field, it is reported that the generalized entropy of the distribution function cascades from large to small scales in position and velocity space, rendering the stochastic heating irreversible.

This is an investigation of collective motion of fish swimming in the presence of obstacles. The authors analyzed trajectories of zebrafish swimming in a tank with varying densities of pillars. As the density of pillars increased, the experiments exhibited a transition from mostly aligned fish, to fish oriented along the axes of the pillar lattice. The authors considered the relative orientations of two fish and developed a stochastic model, which qualitatively reproduced the experimental data.

The study of soliton gases, large ensembles of interacting solitons, has received rapidly growing interest due to deep connections with other phenomena and various areas of physics. This Perspective reviews the main recent theoretical and experimental results in the field, and discusses various open questions and future challenges.

A model for coordinated motion of cilia is examined in this work. In this model, wave dynamics of cilia are represented by motions of microspheres elastically bound to circular orbits that are inclined with respect to a no-slip surface. Parameters are explored with analytical studies and simulations. The authors demonstrate traveling waves whose dynamics and direction may be tuned by the elasticity.

APS has selected 156 Outstanding Referees for 2024 who have demonstrated exceptional work in the assessment of manuscripts published in the Physical Review journals. A full list of the Outstanding Referees is available online.

Solar potential scaling and the urban road network topology
Sara Najem
Phys. Rev. E 95, 012323 (2017)

Emergent self-similarity and scaling properties of fractal intra-urban heat islets for diverse global cities
Anamika Shreevastava, P. Suresh C. Rao, and Gavan S. McGrath
Phys. Rev. E 100, 032142 (2019)

Stability of traffic breakup patterns in urban networks
Marco Cogoni and Giovanni Busonera
Phys. Rev. E 104, L012301 (2021)

Superlinear urban scaling by functional organization: A metabolic interpretation of sectoral water consumption
Likwan Cheng
Phys. Rev. E 107, 034301 (2023)

Evolution of road infrastructure in large urban areas
Erwan Taillanter and Marc Barthelemy
Phys. Rev. E 107, 034304 (2023)

The winning entries of the Second Gallery of Soft Matter are highlighted in this PRE Guest Editorial. We hope they will spark the imagination of researchers and the public alike.

We welcome Valerio Lucarini (University of Reading, UK), who joins the editorial staff of Physical Review E. As Associate Editor, he will be handling manuscripts in the section on Nonlinear Dynamics and Chaos.

After almost 25 years Antonio Politi has stepped down as Associate Editor for Physical Review E. Antonio has handled papers in the section on Nonlinear Dynamics and Chaos since it was created in 1998. We are very grateful for Antonio’s contributions as an editor and for his many years of dedication to the journal. We will miss his presence at our meetings, his expert advice, his thoughtfulness and deep insights.

Three journals are excited to announce a new article type, “Perspectives,” to provide forward-looking views of cutting-edge science that has recently emerged or is enjoying renewed activity.