# Philosophy of Physics bibliography style

Bundle version 1.0.1 (2026-10-14).

`philphys.bst` is a journal adaptation of Glenn Paulley's `chicago.bst` (version 4, 1992) by Bryan W Roberts with support from ChatGPT. The upstream file was downloaded from CTAN, and its attribution and copying notice are preserved in the derivative. Use the renamed file; the obsolete `chicago.sty` package is not needed.

## Use and visual inspection

Keep `philphys.cls`, `philphys.bst`, your article, and its `.bib` file in the same folder. The blind-review template prints only its cited example, Weyl (1918):

```latex
\bibliographystyle{philphys}
\bibliography{philphys-sample-bibliography}
```

For a temporary visual check of all sample references, add `\nocite{*}` before these commands; remove it before submission.

Compile with pdfLaTeX, BibTeX, pdfLaTeX, pdfLaTeX, or use `latexmk -pdf philphys-template.tex`. XeLaTeX and LuaLaTeX can also use this classic BibTeX style; do not use Biber. Bibliography formatting is the same in every class mode. Blind review suppresses article identity, not names in references: authors must review self-citations and identifying prose themselves. See `philphys-documentation.tex` for the complete anonymity guidance.

`\citet{weyl1918}` prints “Weyl (1918)”, `\citep{weyl1918}` prints “(Weyl 1918)”, and `\citep[272]{weyl1918}` prints “(Weyl 1918, 272)” when those are the only cited works by these authors/years. Suffixes appear when additional cited references share an abbreviated author–year label. Three or more authors use “et al.” in ordinary citations; starred commands such as `\citet*` use the full list. Citation punctuation is configured by the class, not the `.bst`.

`philphys-sample-bibliography.bib` contains two test entries for Thirring and Weyl to illustrate how the external bibliography works. You can delete those fixtures and replace the sample references as you like, but they would be automatically ignored in the compiled bibliography unless you cite them.

## Basis and formatting decisions

Published *Philosophy of Physics* articles share the main Chicago author–date structure. This style follows the conventions of the more recent articles reviewed during development:

| Component | Journal adaptation |
| --- | --- |
| Leading names | Bold; retain given names and initials as supplied |
| Name order | First author surname first; later authors given names first |
| Two authors | Comma before “and” |
| Long lists | All supplied names; explicit `and others` prints “et al.” |
| Year | No parentheses; a/b suffixes agree with citation labels, including colliding “et al.” labels |
| Article/chapter titles | Quoted, punctuation inside quotes, case preserved |
| Books/journals | Italic titles; edition and journal volume are plain |
| Journal details | `Journal 66 (4): 801–828`; an article ID can replace pages |
| Chapters | `In Book, edited by Firstname Surname, pages. City: Publisher.` |
| Links | Regular text font; distinct URL followed by `DOI: https://doi.org/...` |
| Ordering | Author names, then year, then title; names repeated in full |

The examples contain inconsistent issue spacing, punctuation, capitalization, and occasional incomplete metadata. This style follows their shared conventions and does not reproduce isolated inconsistencies. Editor-only books, theses, reports, undated items, and access dates use documented fallback conventions; the supplied journal examples do not establish every detail for these types.

## Data entry

Use classic BibTeX fields (`year`, `journal`, `address`), not biblatex's `date`, `journaltitle`, or `location`. Enter titles in the desired case and full given names if they should appear in full. The style cannot reconstruct names that are supplied only as initials. Use TeX accents for reliable classic BibTeX processing, e.g. `D{\"u}rr`, and double braces for corporate authors.

- `doi`: bare identifier, `doi:...`, or an HTTP/HTTPS DOI resolver URL.
- `url`: plain URL; identical DOI URLs are suppressed to avoid duplication.
- `eid` or `articleno`: article number when `pages` is absent.
- `eprint` with `archiveprefix = {arXiv}`: generates an arXiv link if `url` is absent.
- `edition = {2nd}`: prints “2nd ed.”; do not put “ed.” in the field.
- `year = {forthcoming}`: retained in the list and citations; no year becomes “n.d.”.
- `urldate`: optional human-readable access date.
- `crossref`: ordinary BibTeX inheritance; supply `booktitle` on the parent or child. Put the parent after its children in the database. BibTeX may automatically add the parent when enough children are cited; that behavior is controlled by BibTeX, not this style.
- `month`: recognized for compatibility but not printed; the author–year label uses `year` only.

Supported types are `article`, `book`, `booklet`, `inbook`, `incollection`, `inproceedings` (and `conference`), `manual`, `mastersthesis`, `phdthesis`, `proceedings`, `techreport`, `unpublished`, and `misc`. The aliases `online`, `electronic`, and `preprint` use the `misc` field order. Unrecognized entry types use the same fallback. Leading names fall back from author to editor, organization, key, then “Anonymous”; missing dates print “n.d.”. Complete publication details where available: an article without a journal or a book without a publisher produces a BibTeX warning. `urldate` is printed as supplied; it is not parsed as a date.

Sorting/citation labels contain no formatting commands. Boldface is applied only to the names printed in bibliography entries; embedded chapter editors remain in ordinary weight.

## Maintenance

The `.bst` header explains the source, assumptions, supported fields, and the functions controlling each formatting choice. Journal-specific changes carry `POP` comments. The class controls font sizes, hanging indentation, and reference spacing; the `.bst` controls reference text, punctuation, names, and links.

## Licence

Copyright 2026 Bryan W Roberts. These notes may be distributed and/or modified under LPPL 1.3c or any later version, as part of the maintained `philphys` work. See `LICENSE.txt` for the licence and complete file list.