Subscribe to Open (S2O) Publish open access for free
AIP Publishing is pleased to continue our Subscribe to Open (S2O) program for Journal of Applied Physics and Physics of Plasmas in 2025.
As not-for-profit publisher, we’re committed to supporting open access (OA) and accelerating the physical sciences. We’re so pleased that we were able to make two of our most impactful journals— Journal of Applied Physics and Physics of Plasmas— free to publish OA in 2024, and we hope to do it again in 2025.
When your research is published open access, it has the greatest potential to be more impactful. OA articles are more discoverable and more widely shared and used by researchers across the globe.
AIP Publishing (AIPP) articles published open access benefit from the following:
✔ 4x views
✔ 2x citations
✔ 2x shares
How does it work?
Subscribe to Open (S2O) relies on institutional journal subscription renewals to pay for the open access publishing program for that entire calendar year. Since our participation threshold from renewing subscribers was met in 2024, all articles submitted in 2024 and published in Journal of Applied Physics and Physics of Plasmas are fully OA. These articles are published under a Creative Commons license of the authors choosing and the content remains OA in perpetuity.
We will follow the same model for 2025. If the participation threshold from renewing institutions is met, we will make all articles published in 2025 open access with no cost to the author. That decision will be made in March. Until then you can continue to submit and publish without charge; if you elect our Author Select option to make your article open access we will waive the article processing charge if Subscribe to Open goes into effect.
AIP Publishing is committed to supporting the physical sciences community, helping to make open access possible for all, and to increase the impact and discoverability of this research.
Advance science. Be part of an equitable future.
Submit your work to our S2O journals and they may be published open access for free in 2025.
Our expert editorial teams ensure our journals have the rigorous peer review processes you expect from a society publisher.
Journal of Applied Physics
Led by Editor-in-Chief Julia R. Greer, California Institute of Technology, USA, Journal of Applied Physics showcases research from across the world in current applied physics.
Physics of Plasmas
Led by Editor-in-Chief Michael E. Mauel, Columbia University, USA, Physics of Plasmas is published in cooperation with the APS Division of Plasma Physics. The journal showcases research from across the world in experimental, computational, and theoretical plasma physics.
Have Questions? We have answers:
Q. How does the Subscribe to Open model work?
A: The Subscribe to Open model leverages institutional subscriptions to support the transition of the journals to fully open access. We ask our subscribing institutions to continue their subscriptions as usual. If enough libraries renew their subscriptions, 2025 journal content became open and is accessible to all. Free to publish and free to read by everyone.
Q. Will my article be freely available to readers immediately upon publication under the Subscribe to Open model?
A. Yes, your article will be published as open access immediately upon publication, allowing for increased visibility and potential impact.
Q. What are the benefits of publishing under the S2O model?
A: It allows you to make your research freely accessible to a wider audience without bearing the burden of article processing charges (APCs).
Q. Are there any costs or fees for authors under the Subscribe to Open model?
A: There are no costs or fees for authors. The model relies on existing and new subscriptions to support the journal’s transition to open access each year.
Q. If I submitted my article in 2024 and it publishes in 2025, will it still be open access?
A. Yes, your article will still be published open access under a Creative Commons license if it was submitted by December 31, 2024. Articles submitted after January 1, 2025 onward will be still be eligible as we are continuing the S2O program through 2025, but a final decision on access will be pending until March 2025.
Q. What happens if the journal does not reach its institutional subscription target? Will my article still publish open access?
A: Each March, we’ll review subscription renewals to assess if we are able to make articles published in the Journal of Applied Physics and Physics of Plasmas fully open access. If we do not meet our targets to support the program for that year, articles will not automatically publish as open access. You may still choose to publish open access through our Author Select program and will incur the regular Article Processing Charge (APC).
Q. If I publish my article during an S2O year, will it always be open access?
A: Yes, your article will be published open access under a Creative Commons license of your choosing and will forever be free to read.
Q. If I published an article in the Journal of Applied Physics or Physics of Plasmas prior to 2024 last year, will my article be made open access?
A: If you did not initially publish your article as open access, it will be accessible to readers at subscribing institutions. Your article will not automatically be made open access now or in later years through the Subscribe to Open program.
Still have questions? We’re here to help:
Please reach out to the Journal of Applied Physics Editorial office or the Physics of Plasmas Editorial office.