PRL Figures (prl-figures)

When to trigger

• You have many candidate figures and need to choose a few
• Your lead figure does not convey the central result at a glance
• Panels are dense, captions are long, or symbols are unreadable at column width
• You are over length and figures (which count against the limit) are a target
• A coauthor wants to "add one more panel just in case"

Figure strategy for a Letter

A Letter carries a few high-impact figures only — typically on the order of three or four, sometimes fewer. Every figure must earn its place against the deductible length limit (figures consume the word budget; see prl-length-management). The hierarchy:

• Lead figure (Fig. 1) — conveys the central result at a glance. A physicist skimming should grasp the headline from this figure plus its caption alone.
• Supporting figures — each makes exactly one additional point (a control, a dependence, a comparison to theory).
• Everything else — parameter sweeps, raw traces, extended datasets → Supplemental Material.

If a figure does not advance the single central claim or one essential support, move it to SM.