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同行评审是论文发表的必经之路。但面对审稿人的夺命连环问，总是让人不知所措。
别担心，编辑和审稿人没有直接拒稿，这意味着论文发表之路已经成功了一半。
本期我们选择Nature Communications最近发表的一篇论文作为举例，一起看看作者是如何应对态度截然相反的审稿人的吧。
这篇论文共有三位审稿人参与评审，第一位审稿人的评价较为温和，而后两位则提出各种尖锐问题。
审稿人A：我认为该论文非常有趣，值得发表。然而，我想请作者进一步……
审稿人B：这篇论文有可能发表，但我对结果和解释有些疑问……
审稿人C：很遗憾，我目前不支持该论文的发表。它没有达到Nature Communications的科学严谨性标准，缺乏诸多重要细节，作者甚至没有提供…… 作者的解释仅仅是一个假设，应该添加……
一起看看作者是怎么回应的吧
1 General Response
作者首先感谢了编辑和审稿人，并简述了对文章的主要改动。
2 逐条回复审稿人意见
审稿人A：增加数据，补充细节
作者应该在方法部分添加关于数据统计处理的信息，包括在实验中进行的撞击次数（the number of shots）。……我猜测作者进行了多次实验，明确这一点将增加结果的整体可靠性。
作者回复思路：
很好的建议。我们在方法部分增添了统计数据（第241 - 251行）。这项研究是一项长达六周实验的成果，期间对不同参数进行了扫描……。
This is very good suggestion. We have added a statistical section in the Methods (lines 241 - 251). The study is a fruit of a long (six weeks) experimental run, during which different parameters have been scanned, and with about few hundreds shots every day during each of the week.
我们特别对气体密度、加工光束焦点位置和散光校正量进行了扫描。正如修订稿的方法部分所述，多光束出现概率的估算是在相同实验条件下……。光束能量和电荷的标准偏差是根据同一天在相似条件下……
We particularly made scans of the gas density, position of the machining beam focus and amount of astigmatism correction. As also presented in the Methods of the revised manuscript, the estimation of the appearance probability of multiple beams resulted from 83 consecutive shots on the same experimental condition. The standard deviations of the beam energy and charges were estimated based on the shots taken from the same day with similar conditions including ……
审稿人A：对部分内容不理解
为什么100微米的预电离等离子体(图2)会导致激光束分裂成3个部分?
作者回复思路：
正面回答疑问，增添图表数据
这一评论促使我们修改原稿，并更详细地解释了丝化作用（the role of filamentation），这在本研究的背景下显得非常重要。只有当激光到达细丝化生长得更快的高密度未加工区域时，才会分解成3个组件。解释原因……
This comment conducts us to amend the manuscript and add a more detailed explanation on the role of filamentation that appears to be very important in the context of this study. The breaking into 3 components occurs only when the laser reaches the higher-density un-machined region where the filamentation grows much faster.
在修订稿中，我们在Fig. 2c中添加了……。我们添加了Fig. 2d 和Fig. 2e 来解释……。Fig. 3显示了从 3D PIC 模拟中提取的激光横向剖面的演变，描绘了加热的低密度等离子体板中激光散光的增加和高密度区域中光束的破裂。
审稿人B：质疑文章论点
等离子体中的激光成丝也是一种光束传播不稳定性，它根据初始强度调制的非线性增长而演变。对于所述应用，将这种不稳定性控制成多个光束似乎不合理。
作者回复思路：
委婉表明态度，有理有据地说服对方
我们再次不同意审稿人的说法。首先，使用可控不稳定性过程有多种应用，如……
成丝(Filamentation)(类似于其他不稳定性)也可以通过……来进行控制。
Here again we do not agree with the reviewer’s statement. First, there are various applications of using controllable instability processes, such as ......
Filamentation (similar to other instabilities) can also be controlled by reaching saturation and by controlling the seed.
自聚焦过程是丝化的特殊情况，在激光等离子体加速器中得到广泛应用，可以达到稳定电子束。在我们的例子中，不稳定性是通过在低密度受热等离子体中创建初始相位调制来控制的……
Self-focusing process which is the special case of filamentation, has been widely used in the laser wakefield acceleration that delivers at saturation stable electron beams. In our case, the instability is seeded by creating an initial phase modulation in low-density heated plasma. After reaching the high-density region, the instability develops and saturates to form multiple laser filaments driving their wakefields.
在近一百次实验中，多束的稳定性验证了对这种丝化过程的控制，这也可以在附录图1-2中看到。
The control of this filamentation process is verified by the stability of the multiple beams in nearly one hundred shots, which is also seen in the supplementary figures 1-2.
审稿人B：细节内容模糊不清
作者回复思路：
补充重要细节，解决读者疑问
对于这种令人困惑的描述，我们深表歉意。喷气嘴为锥形扩径超音速喷气嘴。1mm 是喉管直径，2mm 是喷嘴出口直径。在修订稿中，我们已经更正了这部分（第 216-218 行）。
We are sorry for this confusing description. The gas nozzle is a conical expanding supersonic one. 1mm is the throat diameter and 2mm is the nozzle exit diameter. In the revised manuscript, we have corrected this part (lines 216-218).
审稿人C：文章研究意义不足
尽管文章结果有趣，但其重要性(significance)并不足以在 Nature Communications 上发表。
作者回复思路：
强调研究价值（稀缺性），善用文献佐证观点
我们在给审稿人的回复中明确了这些结果的重要性。它们不仅限于产生多个电子束，这只是这项工作的其中一个结果，而且还包括灵活塑造的等离子体折射效应的创造。
We believe we made clear in various letters and responses to referees the importance of these results. They are not limited to the generation of multiple electron beams, which is just one consequence of the work. But include the creation of plasma refractive effect which can be shaped flexibly.
近期，高影响力期刊发表了数篇与该主题相关的论文。我们的结果支持这些论文关于等离子体折射光学的断言，首次展示了一种可以在不增加重大成本的情况下使......的实验实现，并为在高密度下的激光等离子体相互作用和需要高重复率光束的应用中开辟了新的探索途径。
We also would like to note recent papers published in high impact journals showing interest in this topic. Our results supporting the assertions about plasma refractive optics made by these papers, show for the first time the experimental implementation of a technique which could benefit the community at large without significant additional cost, and open avenues for new exploration in laser plasma interaction at high densities and for applications that require high repetition beams.
审稿人：用词准确性问题
作者声称实现了显著的指向稳定性，并且测得了4.2 mrad的标准偏差。为了上下文连贯性，应在文章正文中将其与文献值进行比较。
作者回复思路：
承认问题，做出妥协并给出解释（鉴于字数限制）
这里"显著"指的是……我们同意"显著"不太合适，改为"出乎意料"（unexpected）。等离子体本身……是反常的。
We are sorry for this confusing description. The gas nozzle is a conical expanding supersonic one. 1mm is the throat diameter and 2mm is the nozzle exit diameter. In the revised manuscript, we have corrected this part (lines 216-218).
3 结束语
再次感谢编辑和审稿人，以积极肯定的语气结束信件。
虽然有些审稿意见看上去很棘手，但拿到审稿意见就已经成功了一半。克服这些困难后，你又上了一个新台阶，加油哦。
回复审稿人意见的小技巧你学会了吗？
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参考资料：
[1] https://www.edanz.com/excited-science/journal-resubmission-structure-of-a-response-letter#A_final_word_on_journal_response_letters
[2] https://journalinsights.elsevier.com/journals/0142-9612/acceptance_rate
[3] https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-38937-0#Sec9
