BABAR Publication Policy * I. Introduction This document governs the process by which BaBar physics results are approved by the collaboration for public release. The highest standards must be maintained for all physics results, whether they are to be presented as oral conference reports, poster sessions, written conference proceedings or written journal publications. This Publication Policy is established to achieve the following goals: 1. To provide the process by which physics results gain collaboration approval. 2. To insure the quality, correctness, and uniformity of BABAR publications and conference reports. 3. To insure efficiency and timeliness in submitting BABAR publications to the publishers. 4. To provide involvement for the entire collaboration in the review process. 5. To provide for the maintenance of a central library for all publications. The word "paper" is used generically in this document to refer to all BaBar analysis results which are prepared with the intent to make them publicly available. It assumes that papers result from an analysis process that is governed by the BABAR Analysis Policy and administered by the Analysis Coordinator(s). The Publication Policy also has a supplementary relationship with the policy of the Membership Committee through the Author List. II. Types of Papers Covered by This Policy In addition to physics papers there will be instrumentation and Monte Carlo papers, and the policies governing each type will necessarily be slightly different. The following types of papers are covered by this Publication Policy: 1 Analysis Papers submitted for journal publication. This Publication Policy will define the process by which an analysis result and its publication are approved by the collaboration. It will include ample opportunity for internal review by the entire collaboration of both the physics analysis and the written paper before it is submitted. 2 Papers submitted to or presented at Conferences. These are presentations of new physics results, either written or oral. They are subject to the same procedures as papers submitted for journal publication; however, since there will be fixed deadlines, the procedures will generally require some "streamlining" as described in the policy below. Oral presentations will also be subject to the jurisdiction of the BABAR Speakers Bureau. The following types of papers represent results from subgroups within the collaboration that should be subject to a review and approval process that is concentrated within that subgroup. These papers are also governed within the framework of this Policy, but with procedures that differ slightly, as detailed in the Policy. 3 Instrumentation Papers. These papers are assumed to arise from any of the detector subgroups of the collaboration during the construction and commissioning phases of the detector. However, all collaborators should be informed about the process and have access to instrumentation papers as soon as they are in final form. 4 Papers resulting from Monte Carlo studies. Like instrumentation papers, publishable Monte Carlo results might be generated by a subgroup of the Collaboration prior to the availability of data. Once again, all collaborators should be informed and have access to Monte Carlo papers as soon as they are in final form. * Ratified by the Collaboration Council on October 20, 1996 III. The Publications Board There will be a permanent Publications Board that will monitor the internal approval process of all BABAR publications. The functions of the Publications Board are as follows: i The Publications Board will appoint a Review Committee for each paper, at the request of the analysis group when it feels a result is ready for public presentation. In the case of conference papers or publication of highly competitive results, the Publications Board will also establish the time deadlines appropriate to expedite the paper. ii The Publications Board will generate and maintain the policies regarding format and style for publications, and make recommendations for the techniques by which papers are made available to all members of the collaboration. iii The Publications Board will resolve conflicts which might arise during the approval process of an individual paper. iv The Publications Board will be responsible for the final approval of all journal publications, following a recommendation by the Review Committee. The chair of the Publications Board must notify the primary author(s) of the approval prior to submission for publication. v The Publications Board will oversee the maintenance of a repository for all BABAR papers and their distribution to the High Energy Physics community. vi The Publications Board will monitor the internal review process in general and make recommendations to the Collaboration Council if/when changes to this policy are deemed necessary. Membership: The Publications Board will consist of 6 members from the collaboration at large, each serving 3 years, with 2 members being replaced each year. New members will be proposed by the Council Chair, after consultation with the Spokesperson and the Analysis Coordinator; the proposal must be ratified by the Council membership. The Council chairperson, serving ex-officio, will chair the committee. The BABAR Spokesperson and the Analysis Coordinator will be also be ex-officio members. IV. The Review Committee There will be a separate Review Committee for each paper to oversee the approval process for that paper. The Review Committee is appointed for each paper by the Publication Board. The functions of each Review Committee are described below: i The Review Committee will conduct its own review of the analysis and will certify that the analysis is both correct and has been carried out according to the highest standards. If necessary, the paper should be returned to the author(s) for revision. ii The Review Committee will insure that written papers satisfy the format and style criteria established by the Publications Board. iii The Review Committee will ensure that the paper together with the supporting analysis documentation is made available to the collaboration in a timely manner. iv The Review Committee will assist the authors in gathering comments from the members of the collaboration and addressing them. This process should converge as rapidly as possible. For conference papers the number of iterations must be held to a minimum and the Review Committee must balance the need to gain approval of the paper with the need to meet deadlines. v When it is satisfied, the Review Committee will transmit the final version of the paper to the Publications Board along with its recommendation for approval. vi If the paper is returned from a refereed journal, the author(s), with the help of the Review Committee, will attempt to satisfy the comments of the referees and resubmit the paper with appropriate modification. The Publication Board will monitor the re- submission process through its representative on the Review Committee Membership: Each Review Committee will consist of at least 3 members from the collaboration, appointed by the Publications Board. The Committee will include at least one member from the Publications Board, one member from the analysis group from which the paper arose (but not one of the primary author(s)), and one member from outside the analysis group. The members of the Review Committee will serve until the paper is accepted for publication. In the case of conference results, the Review Committee will serve from the presentation of the conference result until the paper is finally accepted for journal publication. V. Publication Approval Procedures A. Analysis Publications All new BABAR physics results that are being presented for the first time in any forum outside of the collaboration are subject to the following procedures: 1. Consistent with Analysis Policy, physics analyses will be pursued and reviewed frequently within analysis subgroups of the collaboration. The analysis subgroup should present the details of any analysis in open and advertised meetings before proceeding toward publication. When an analysis subgroup considers an analysis result to be mature, the primary author(s) will request that the Publication Board establish a Review Committee. 2. The Review Committee, in consultation with the primary author(s), will schedule a collaboration-wide presentation of the result. By this time the analysis documentation should also be available in the form of one or more detailed internal BABAR Notes describing the analysis. For conference presentations of new results, this collaboration- wide review process must start at least 14 days before the conference presentation, in order to give adequate time for the review and approval process. 3. All conference presentations of new results must be approved by the respective Review Committee. This includes approval of all quoted measurements and errors, as well as approval of all plots in which data is shown. The writeup for the conference proceedings must also be approved by the Committee prior to being turned in. 4. For any given physics analysis, it is assumed that there can be only one preliminary conference result. It cannot be updated, except by a final result which will be submitted for journal publication. The analysis of additional data will be considered as a new physics analysis, and may result in appointment of a new Review Committee, at the discretion of the Publication Board. 5. The primary authors will prepare the draft version of the written paper which it will submit to the Review Committee. Prior to final approval, draft versions of papers must be kept internal within BABAR. A distribution system that allows security from the outside but accessibility to collaborators must be chosen. 6. Comments from collaboration members must be collected and addressed, as overseen by the Review Committee. The Review Committee will ensure that the most recent version of the paper is available to the collaboration and will advertise major updates. When the paper has finally converged and the Review Committee agrees that it is ready for publication, they will forward the paper to the Publicaton Board for final approval. B. Instrumentation and Monte Carlo Publications Instrumentation papers that are based on R&D performed prior to the final BABAR design choices are not subject to this Policy. Preparation of instrumentation papers based on the final design of the BABAR detector are the responsibility of the System Manager of the detector subgroup. The System Manager will designate the author(s) and request that the Publication Board establish a Review Committee for that publication. Because instrumental papers are somewhat specialized, the collaboration wide exposure and review process can be abbreviated. Publications arising from Monte Carlo studies will be governed by the Analysis Policy and preparation of such papers will proceed when the Analysis Coordinator(s) deem that it is appropriate. The Analysis Coordinator(s) will designate the primary author(s) and request that the Publication Board establish a Review Committee for that "publication". The authors will prepare the draft version of the paper which it will submit to the Review Committee. Since these papers are likely to be of greater interest to the collaboration as a whole, the Review Committee should subject such papers to a collaboration wide exposure and approval process comparable to that of analysis papers. VI Authorship A. Analysis Papers The author list on all written analysis papers will be determined by the following rules: 1. All collaborating physicists, as determined by the BABAR membership committee, are eligible to be included on the author list subject to the following guidelines: i Inclusion on the author list will normally begin one year after membership starts, as determined by the BABAR Membership Committee, and will last for one year after membership terminates. The BABAR membership committee will maintain the records concerning the start and termination dates of individual members. This rule will be applied on the date when the paper is approved for submission by the Publication Board. ii For collaborators who have been members longer than one year before the first data is acquired, authorship rights will be retained after termination on the basis of one additional year for every two years of membership before the acquisition of the first data. iii Exceptions to these guidelines or appeals in special circumstances will be handled by the Publication Board. For example, engineers and technicians might be included on the first few analysis papers 2. The author list will be alphabetical only, with no lead authors. It will carry, as a header, the phrase: "The BABAR Collaboration" 3. Whenever included, the institution list will be alphabetic. 4. Published versions of talks will list the speaker, followed by the phrase: "representing the BABAR Collaboration." B. Instrumentation Papers The author list on instrumentation papers that are based on R&D performed prior to the final BABAR design choices will be determined by the group that has performed the research. in consultation with the appropriate System Manager. The author list on instrumentation papers that are based on the final BABAR design will be determined by the System Managers of the detector subsystem from which the paper originates. The author list on all instrumentation papers will generally include: i The physicist membership of the group or subsystem, including graduate students and, if appropriate, undergraduate students that have contributed to the effort. ii Engineers and technicians, as appropriate. Instrumentation papers should be presented to the collaboration with sufficient notice to allow time for a request for authorship by physicists, engineers and technicians who have contributed to the effort. C. Monte Carlo Papers Authorship on papers resulting from Monte Carlo analysis will be determined by the Analysis Coordinator(s). It will generally include all persons who have contributed to the Monte Carlo, including physicists and programmers who have contributed event generators, detector simulation software, analysis algorithms, etc. Monte Carlo papers should be presented to the collaboration with sufficient notice to allow time for a request for authorship by physicists, programmers and engineers who have contributed to the effort. BABAR Publication Policy