We work in the field of theoretical statistical physics at Brookhaven National Lab. Thus, we will examine some well-known publications generated at BNL in statistical physics:
| Paper | Title | CiteRank | Kin Rank | PageRank | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PRL 59, 381 | Self-organized Criticality: An explanation of the 1/f noise | 6 | 30 | 21 | 699 |
| PRL 56, 889 | Dynamic Scaling of Growing Interfaces | 23 | 24 | 49 | 802 |
| PRL 71, 4083 | Punctuated Equilibrium and Criticality in a Simple Model of Evolution | 183 | 869 | 1053 | 166 |
CiteRank captures the current relevance of publications in a way that PageRank cannot. A comparison of the two for the same network of publications (the Physical Review citation network) reveals large correlation and some interesting publications where the two ranking methods disagree. 
The publications above (below) the dotted green (red) line have large (low) ratio of CiteRank to PageRank, CR/PR, and tend to be recent (older). CiteRank, however is more sophisticated than simple segregation by age.
In the CiteRank algorithm, recent citations contribute greatly to the rank of a paper of any age. A good example of this phenomenon is the famous 1935 paper by Einstein, Podolsky, and Rosen (EPR) . Despite its age, EPR has a very high CiteRank and a large CR/PR. A quick glance at its citation history reveals why: over fifty citations within the year of 2007 alone; it has a clear connection to current lines of research. Another inspection of the publications in the high-ratio sector, reveals a review paper of out-of-equilibrium pattern formation by Cross and Hohenburg (C-H). This paper is a good example of a class of review papers that server to summarize the state of affairs of a topic that is of continuing interest to research.
What about publications with low CiteRank but high PageRank (lifetime achievement award)? Many of these papers cover undeniably fundamental advancements in physics. Two explicit examples are the Feynman and Gell-Mann paper on Fermi interactions (F-G) and the well-known Cabibbo paper on leptonic decay (Cab). The low CiteRank of these papers can be explained by a dearth of recent citations, which in turn is likely due to the incorporation of fundamental discoveries and advancements into textbooks, reviews and other published works that integrate recent developments and add historical context.