Instructions for Authors

The Chinese Journal of Astronomy and Astrophysics (ChJAA) publishes original research papers and reviews on all branches of astronomy and astrophysics. Reviews are by invitation only. Important new results that require rapid published can be submitted as a Letter.

Authors who submit a paper are expected to be able to certify that the paper is original work,  has not been published before and is not being considered for publication elsewhere.

Papers should be written in grammatical English: authors who have doubts about this should ask a knowledgeable colleague to read a draft critically.

Papers can be typeset directly from the author's TeX or LaTeX file as an alternative to conventional typesetting. ChJAA will also accept manuscripts in Microsoft Word. Authors are required to send two hard copies together with the TeX file and the postscript (PS) files of the figures to the editor. Authors are strongly encouraged to use the  ChJAA's macro class or style files to prepare their manuscripts. 

Two paper copies should be submitted in computer-printed or typewritten form, in a standard font in which Roman and italic characters can be distinguished. Hard copy figures should accompany the manuscript. Electronic submission is also available (via e-mail at < zjz@bao.ac.cn or zjz@chjaa.org  > or anonymous ftp, see details here).

Letters must be restricted in length to 5 printed pages.

The manuscripts should be submitted to:

ChJAA Editorial Office,
Beijing Astronomical Observatory,
Chinese Academy of Sciences,
20A Datun Road, Chaoyang District,
Beijing 100012,
China
Telephone: +86 10 64853746; Fax: +86 10 64859720
E-mail: zjz@bao.ac.cn 

      1.Requirements of papers
        1.1. Manuscript contents
        1.2. References
      2. Page proofs
      3. Offprints
      4. Macro packages
      5. Electronic submission
   6. Keywords

 
1. REQUIREMENTS OF PAPERS

1.1 Manuscript Contents

Manuscripts should generally contain: title, author's name, address of author's institution, abstract, max. 6 key words, main text, acknowledgements, list of references, tables and figures. Figures can be submitted either as postscript files or as hard copies. Tables can be prepared in Latex format or sent as  hard copies.  The author should indicate the locations where the figures and tables should appear in the article. Manuscript pages should be numbered  consecutively, as are the figures and tables.

Title
The title of the paper should be concise yet informative.

Authors and addresses
For every manuscript, all authors and all addresses should be listed.  Addresses should contain e-mail addresses where possible. A number should precede each address and the authors' names should be marked with the appropriate numerical  superscript(s).

Abstract
Authors should provide an abstract normally of not more than 200 words. The abstract should be self-contained, summarizing concisely the content and conclusions of the paper.

Key words
A maximum of 6 key words should be given following the Abstract. These should be  selected from a list that is common to ApJ, A&A and MNRAS, and only key words that appear on the list are allowed.

Main Text
Manuscripts should be divided into numbered sections and subsections, starting with 
``1. INTRODUCTION''. Subsections should be numbered, e.g., 2.1, 2.2, 3.1, etc.; appendices with A, B, etc. All sections must have a short descriptive title.

The following expressions should always be abbreviated unless they come at the beginning of a sentence (e.g. Sect., Sects., Fig., Figs., Col., Cols.). Table is never abbreviated.

Abbreviations of concepts, methods, instruments, observatories, etc., may be used throughout the text but the full wording with the abbreviation in parentheses should be given once in the Abstract (if appropriate) and/or once at the first place of mention in the main text (usually in the Introduction).

Figures and tables 
Figures submitted to the Journal must be of very good quality to ensure accuracy and clarity in the final published copy, and should preferably be in postscript form.
Artwork should be in good focus, with clean, clear numbers and letters and  sharp black lines. Thin lines, particularly in figures requiring considerable reduction, should be avoided.

Line artwork
Authors are asked to bear in mind, when preparing their diagrams, the likely reduction  that will be needed when the figure is placed in the journal page. It is important  to ensure that the line thickness used will withstand a possibly significant  reduction in size. This applies to all aspects of the figure, but dotted and dot-dashed lines can cause  particular problems. Axis labelling and lettering, too,  should be sized  appropriately for the figure and its likely final size.  Labelling that is far too large for a figure can also be problematic, and may look very odd on the printed page. Unsuitable artwork will be referred back to the author, inevitably leading to delay in publication, and  authors will be charged for figures that have to be redrawn.

Tables
Tables published in the print version should be prepared using LaTeX. All tables  must be mentioned explicitly by number and appear in correct numerical order in  the body of the text. That is, Tables 1, 2, 3, and 4 must each be mentioned in the text at least once, and the first mention of Table 3 should not precede the first mention of Table 2.

Mathematics
Italic and boldface should be used appropriately to identify physical or  mathematical variables. In general, variables are set in light italic, vectors in boldface italic (no arrows).

Physical constants such as the speed of light, the Boltzmann constant, the Hubble constant and the solar mass are also set in light italic.

Differential d, complex i, exponential e, sin, cos, tan, log, etc., are Roman.

Sub/superscripts that are physical variables are italic, while those that are just labels are Roman (e.g. C_t, but T_eff).

Equations should be punctuated as part of the sentence. Equations in appendices  should be numbered  (A1), (A2), (B1), etc.

Units
Standard abbreviations for SI units (e.g., m, km, mm) or natural units (e.g., AU, pc, light-year) should be used. Expressions of rate, such as kilometers per second, Joules per square meter, etc., should always be set as, e.g., km s^-1, not km/s;J m^-2, not J/m².

The SI-derived unit for energy is Joule (J), but the erg is the unit of energy often used by astronomers by international agreement; and the magnetic unit is  Tesla (T), but Gauss is still commonly used. Tesla (T) and Joule (J) are the  preferred unit for ChJAA, but Gauss and erg are acceptable so long as the international astronomers continue to use them.

Units should be in Roman and separated from the number by a ``$\backslash$,'' half-space -- e.g.  200\,keV.

The units of time are ms, s, min, h, d, yr, Gyr.

The units of distance are \AA,  nm, $\mu$m, mm, cm, m, km, AU(au), light-year, pc, kpc, Mpc.

The unit of arcseconds is arcsec when used to denote angular size or  separation (e.g. ``beamsize 12 arcsec'', ``30 arcsec west of the star''); use ``for positions (e.g.  Dec. 30\dg 29$'$ 23$''$) (similarly for arcminutes).

Avoid repeating units unnecessarily (e.g. ``1.3 and 2.6 mm'' rather than  ``1.3 mm and 2.6 mm'').

The unit of magnitudes is ``mag'', not superscript ``m''. 

Use the degree symbol ``\dgree'' except to denote e.g. areas, where deg<sup>2</sup> may be  more appropriate (e.g. ``a survey area of 3 deg²''). 

Miscellaneous
``e.g., i.e., cf., etc.'', are Roman. Letters denoting wavebands (e.g., UBV) are 
set italic. Colour excess is set  as, e.g., E(B-V). Letters denoting orbital states are set Roman. Ionized species should be denoted by small capitals, preceded by  a thin space -- e.g., HeI; Computer software (e.g.,  CLOUDY -- {\sc cloudy}) should be in small capitals.  Satellite names should be in italic (e.g., Ginga, IRAS). The correct bracket order is {[( )]}. Acronyms and abbreviations should be spelt out at the first occurrence,  unless they are very well known.

Dates should be written in the order: year, month, and day; e.g.,  ``2000 January 1'', the month being written in full, except in tables, where the standard three-letter abbreviations for months are used without a period.

Figures and tables should be referred to as e.g., ``Fig. 1'' and ``Table 1'',  unless they are from another paper, in which case ``fig. 1'' and  ``table 1''  should be used.

1.2 References

Authors should check carefully that all references in the text appear in the  reference list, and vice versa; also that the dates and spelling of names are  consistent between the text and the reference list. It is the responsibility of authors to ensure the accuracy of their references.

In the references list, use no bold or italic, no commas after author surnames, and no ampersand  between the final two author names. Examples of correct styles for some common reference forms are given below.

Journal article
Lin W. P., B{\"o}rner G., Mo H. J., 2000,  MNRAS, 319, 517 

Author [Last name, First-name initials], Author, (no ampersand) Author, Year, Journal abbreviated title, Volume number, First page of article

 ``Letters'' are denoted by the prefix ``L'' on the page number  (e.g. ApJ, 279,  L23). 

Book
Harwit M., 1998, Astrophysical Concepts, 3rd ed., Berlin: Springer

Author [Last name, First-name initials], Author, Year, Title, Edition, if any; City of publication: Publisher

Article or chapter in an edited collection
Huchra J. A., 1986, In:  E. W. Kolb et al., eds., 
Inner Space/Outer Space, Chicago: Univ. Chicago Press, 65

Author(s) [Last name, First-name initials], Year, ed., In:  Editors by first-name initials followed by last name, ed., Collection title, City of publication: Publisher, First page of article

Conference proceedings
Gunn J. E., Knapp G., 1993, In: B. T. Soifer, ed., ASP Conf. Ser. Vol. 43,  Sky Surveys.,  San Francisco: ASP, p. 267

Author(s) [Last name, First-name initials], Year, In:  Editors by first-name initials followed by last name, ed., Conference series title [ASP Conf. Ser., AIP Conf.  Proc., IAU Colloq., IAU Symp., etc.] and number, Volume title, City of publication: Publisher, First page of article

Preprints
Smith A. B., 1999, preprint (astro-ph/9912345)

Author(s) [Last name, First-name initials], Year, preprint (preprint series and number)

Star catalogs
Hoffleit D., 1982, The Bright Star Catalogue, New Haven: Yale Univ. Obs.

Author(s) [Last name, First-name initials], Year, Catalog title, City of publication: Publisher

Private communications and papers in preparation
Papers in preparation and information obtained through private communications should be cited in the text but should not be included in the reference list.

For journal articles, list the short title of the periodical. IAU abbreviations should be used. The following are some acronyms used for frequently cited journals:
  
  A&A     Astronomy and Astrophysics 
  A&AS    Astronomy and Astrophysics Supplement Series 
  AJ      Astronomical Journal 
  ApJ     Astrophysical Journal 
  ApJS    Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series 
  Ap&SS   Astrophysics and Space Science 
  ARA&A   Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics
  Azh     Astronomicheskij Zhurnal 
  ChJAA   Chinese Journal of Astronomy and Astrophysics 
  MNRAS   Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
  PASJ    Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan 
  PASP    Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific 


2. PAGE PROOFS  

Page proofs will be sent to the authors by e-mail (ps file) or by post. Proofs should be read carefully, particularly equations and other numerical matter. It is the responsibility of each author to check the proofs, reply to any queries, and notify the production team of any typographical errors. When updating the reference list, please be careful to update textual citations as well if the year has changed.
    

3. OFFPRINTS  

For each article, 30 offprints are supplied free of charge. Additional copies may be ordered at cost price.

4. Macro Packages for Manuscript Preparation

Your manuscript is hopefully to be LaTeX-prepared using the ChJAA macro packages:  the macro class cjaa.cls for LaTeX2e  following the sample file cjaa.tex (preferred),  or  the macro style cjaa209.sty for LaTeX 2.09 (sample file cjaa209.tex). Unpack cjaa.zip with WinZip (in Windows), pkunzip (in DOS) or unzip (in Linux) and read cjaa.txt first. Using the option 'referee' for submission before your paper is accepted. Please note that the packages are still in testing stage, you are encouraged to fix any bugs and email back your version. 

  Click here to download the ChJAA macro packages cjaa.zip
　

5. Electronic-Submission Procedure:
   
Your full paper including all figures and tables must be compiled in a single PostScript (PS) file.  We suggest you compress the PS file whenever its size larger than 1 MB. The formats of .zip, .gz or .Z are acceptable. If the PS file is larger than 1 MB, you'd better submit via FTP.

1. via E-mail

   (1). E-mail your full paper in a single (compressed) PS file as attachment to:
          zjz@bao.ac.cn or  zjz@chjaa.org .

   (2). Hand in two hard copies (one in referee, the other in preprint format) of  your manuscript if possible

2. via anonymous FTP

This is the recommended way to submit a large-size file (>1 MB). Please use binary  mode to transfer your file if it is compressed or it is a Microsoft Word document. A PostScript file is an ASCII file. When your article is accepted for publication, you will be asked to supply all the files used in the accepted version of your  manuscript, including the text *.tex and figures *.eps.

(3). Send an email to the editor to confirm your submission and include your paper's abstract in ASCII format.

No more than six keywords should be given (and if keywords are used for individual stars, galaxies, etc., each object normally counts as one keyword). The overall categories (which are capitalized) should not be included. Also, do not include any part of a keyword that is in parentheses: thus, (stars:) binaries (including multiple): close should be given as binaries: close.

editorials, notices
errata, addenda
extraterrestrial intelligence
history and philosophy of astronomy
miscellaneous
obituaries, biographies
sociology of astronomy
standards

PHYSICAL DATA AND PROCESSES

atmospheric effects
balloons
celestial mechanics
space vehicles
instrumentation: adaptive optics
instrumentation: detectors
instrumentation: high angular resolution
instrumentation: interferometers
instrumentation: miscellaneous
instrumentation: photometers
instrumentation: polarimeters
instrumentation: spectrographs
methods: analytical
methods: data analysis
methods: laboratory
methods: miscellaneous
methods: N-body simulations
methods: numerical
methods: statistical
site testing
space vehicles: instruments
techniques: high angular resolution
techniques: image processing
techniques: interferometric
techniques: miscellaneous
techniques: photometric
techniques: polarimetric
techniques: radar astronomy
techniques: radial velocities
techniques: spectroscopic
telescopes

ASTRONOMICAL DATA BASES

astrometry
eclipses
ephemerides
occultations
reference systems
time

THE SUN

comets: general
comets: individual (..., ...)
Earth
interplanetary medium
Kuiper Belt
meteors, meteoroids
minor planets, asteroids
Moon
Oort Cloud
planets: rings
planets and satellites: formation
planets and satellites: general
planets and satellites: individual (alphabetic order)
solar system: formation
solar system: general

STARS

ISM: abundances
ISM: atoms
ISM: bubbles
ISM: clouds
(ISM:) cosmic rays
(ISM:) dust, extinction
ISM: evolution
ISM: general
ISM: globules
ISM: Herbig-Haro objects
(ISM:) HII regions
ISM: individual (..., ...) (except planetary nebulae)
ISM: jets and outflows
ISM: kinematics and dynamics
ISM: lines and bands
ISM: magnetic fields
ISM: molecules
(ISM:) planetary nebulae: general
(ISM:) planetary nebulae: individual (..., ...)
(ISM:) reflection nebulae
ISM: structure
(ISM:) supernova remnants

THE GALAXY

galaxies: abundances
galaxies: active
(galaxies:) BL Lacertae objects: general
(galaxies:) BL Lacertae objects: individual (..., ...)
galaxies: bulges
galaxies: clusters: general
galaxies: clusters: individual (..., ...)
galaxies: star clusters
(galaxies:) cooling flows
galaxies: distances and redshifts
galaxies: dwarf
galaxies: elliptical and lenticular, cD
galaxies: evolution
galaxies: formation
galaxies: fundamental parameters (classification, colors, luminosities, masses, radii, etc.)
galaxies: general
galaxies: halos
galaxies: high-redshift
galaxies: individual (..., ...)
galaxies: interactions
(galaxies:) intergalactic medium
galaxies: ISM
galaxies: irregular
galaxies: jets
galaxies: kinematics and dynamics
(galaxies:) Local Group
galaxies: luminosity function, mass function
(galaxies:) Magellanic Clouds
galaxies: magnetic fields
galaxies: nuclei
galaxies: peculiar
galaxies: photometry
(galaxies:) quasars: absorption lines
(galaxies:) quasars: emission lines
(galaxies:) quasars: general
(galaxies:) quasars: individual (..., ...)
galaxies: Seyfert
galaxies: spiral
galaxies: starburst
galaxies: star clusters
galaxies: statistics
galaxies: stellar content
galaxies: structure

COSMOLOGY

gamma rays: bursts
gamma rays: observations
gamma rays: theory
infrared: galaxies
infrared: general
infrared: ISM
infrared: solar system
infrared: stars
radio continuum: galaxies
radio continuum: general
radio continuum: ISM
radio continuum: solar system
radio continuum: stars
radio lines: galaxies
radio lines: general
radio lines: ISM
radio lines: solar system
radio lines: stars
submillimeter
ultraviolet: galaxies
ultraviolet: general
ultraviolet: ISM
ultraviolet: solar system
ultraviolet: stars
X-rays: binaries
X-rays: bursts
X-rays: diffuse background
X-rays: galaxies
X-rays: galaxies: clusters
X-rays: general
X-rays: individual (..., ...)
X-rays: ISM
X-rays: stars