pss – taking legacy to the future

Abstract Dear readers, 2016 has a special anniversary coming up for physica status solidi ( pss ): Its most‐ever‐cited article “Optical Properties and Electronic Structure of Amorphous Germanium” by J. Tauc, R. Grigorovici, and A. Vancu (then Prague and Bucharest) was published half a century ago [1]. Printed about two months after receipt of the manuscript on June 1st 1966, it is a witness of the impressively fast publication times of pss back then. The article went online 40 years later in 2006, when Wiley had the pre‐internet‐era content scanned.Citations (right axis) and cumulative citations (left axis) to “Optical Properties and Electronic Structure of Amorphous Germanium” by J. Tauc et al., pss (1966) [1] versus year (Data from Web of Sci‐ence SCI, Dec 2015).Beyond the reach of contemporary journal‐usage metrics, it has been collecting citations throughout 50 years, and recently we even saw a pronounced acceleration due to renewed interest in amorphous materials, with groups analyzing and developing the method proposed by Tauc et al. further [2]. pss proudly continues to provide, promote, and safeguard this valuable piece of information, and to accompany it through the changing times of its lasting legacy for the solid state physics research community. All the while, we are working with our authors, reviewers, board members, and guest editors to add content to the journal that has the potential for a similarly impressive career in scientific literature. Much of pss ' most interesting content is attracted by specially compiled, topical publications in collaboration with guest editors these days, and we can mention only a few of them here. Prominently in 2015, pss leaned in on the recent physics Nobel Prize topic again with a double issue on Nitride Semiconductors [3], and also the January issue of pss ( b ) in 2016 is dedicated to the specific challenges of Polarization‐Field Control in Nitride Light Emit‐ters [4]. Regarding long‐lasting topics we should mention the “20 Years of Science for Diamond” issue in pss ( a ) [5], and on the contemporary device physics line both “Transparent Conductive Oxides – Fundamentals and Applications” [6] and the issue dedicated to “Advanced Materials and Nano‐ technology for Photovoltaics” [7]. Reflecting the intense activity in the field and its impact on the world energy economy, photovoltaics based on inorganic as well as organic electronics have been increasingly prominent throughout the pss journal family, also resulting in the pss ( RRL ) standing topical section “RRL solar”. pss ( b ) has a very interesting collection on the physics of low‐dimensional structures, including graphene, nanotubes, and transition‐metal dichalcogenides, in “Electronic Properties of Novel Materials: Molecular Nanostructures” [8]. Venturing into more inter‐ disciplinary areas, pss ( b ) also published “Auxetics and Other Systems of ‘Negative’ Characteristics” with 32 contributions from physics, mathematics, and engineering perspectives [9] and pss ( a ) had “Engineering of Functional Interfaces” [10]. This year we are looking forward to “Carbononics – Integrating Electronics, Photonics and Spintronics with Graphene Quantum Dots” [11], a Focus Issue in pss ( RRL ), and many other interesting projects. In 2015, physica status solidi (c) – current topics in solid state physics joined the other pss family journals on the editorial platform Editorial Manager. With system data on a new level of transparency, we may report for the year that pss published 1172 articles, worked with 71 guest editors and received approximately 4400 reviewer reports (including re‐reviews). As is obvious from these numbers, the journal family flourishes due to its lively interaction and the lasting strong support from the solid state researcher community. We would like to convey our sincere gratitude to all board members, guest editors, reviewers, and authors for the time and work they invest. And of course, we remain open for your future suggestions, and we will observe closely which topic may be poised to become the next pss evergreen. With best wishes for a prosperous year 2016, Sabine Bahrs, Nadezda Panarina, and Stefan Hildebrandt Editors physica status solidi