[Tex/LaTex] Table and caption formatting

captionsformattingtables

I'm having some problems getting my table and caption formatting to look right. Below is a sample of the code from my thesis. I've included all the packages that I'm using in my thesis, so that you can get an idea of what else might be affecting the look of the table. I've also attached a picture of my output.

The main issues that I have with the table are:

  1. The caption text sits too close to the top of the table. Is there a way to get this to sit a little higher (0.5-1 line spaces) above the table?
  2. The rows are too closely spaced, making it a little hard to read the nuclide and atomic mass numbers for the elements. Does line spacing not affect tables? How can I can increase the spacing between rows?
  3. The text underneath the table needs to sit directly beneath the table and be no wider than the width of the table. How do I go about this?

Thanks for the help!

enter image description here.

\documentclass[12pt,a4paper]{report}
\usepackage{setspace}
\usepackage{amsmath}
\usepackage{graphicx}
\usepackage{layout}
\usepackage{lscape}
\usepackage[round]{natbib}
\usepackage{array}
\usepackage{booktabs}
\usepackage{siunitx}
\usepackage{tensor}

\begin{document}
\doublespacing
\begin{table}
\centering
\caption{Naturally occurring long-lived radionuclides and their stable radiogenic daughters frequently used in geochronology.}\label{tab:001}
\addtolength{\tabcolsep}{-2pt} % slight reduction of intercolumn space
\begin{tabular}{*{4}{c} >{\raggedright\arraybackslash}p{3.5cm}}
\toprule
Parent & Decay Modes$^a$ & Half-life (years) & Daughters \\
\midrule
$^{40}_{19}$K & $\varepsilon$: $10.72\%$, $\beta^{+}$: $1.0\times 10^{-3}\%$ & $1.248 \times 10^{9}$ & $^{40}_{18}$Ar \\
$^{40}_{19}$K & $\beta^{-}$: $89.28\%$ & $1.248 \times 10^{9}$ & $^{40}_{20}$Ca \\
$^{87}_{37}$Rb & $\beta^{-}$: $100\%$ & $4.81\times 10^{10}$ & $^{87}_{38}$Sr \\
$^{147}_{62}$Sm & $\alpha$: $100\%$ & $1.06\times 10^{11}$ & $^{143}_{60}$Nd \\
$^{176}_{71}$Lu & $\beta^{-}$: $100\%$ & $3.76\times 10^{10}$ & $^{176}_{72}$Hf \\
$^{187}_{75}$Re & $\alpha$: $1.0\times 10^{-4}\%$, $\beta^{-}: 100\%$ & $4.33\times 10^{10}$ & $^{187}_{76}$Os \\
$^{232}_{90}$Th & $\alpha$: $100\%$, SF: $1.1\times 10^{-9}\%$ & $1.40\times 10^{10}$ & $^{208}_{82}$Pb \\
$^{235}_{92}$U & $\alpha$: $100\%$, SF: $7.0\times 10^{-9}\%$ & $7.04\times 10^{8}$ & $^{207}_{82}$Pb \\
$^{238}_{92}$U & $\alpha$: $100\%$, SF: $5.5\times 10^{-5}\%$ & $4.468\times 10^{9}$ & $^{206}_{82}$Pb \\
\bottomrule
\end{tabular}
\end{table}
$^{a}$ $\varepsilon$ = electron capture decay; $\beta^{+}$ = positron decay; $\beta^{-}$ = negatron decay; $\alpha$ = alpha decay.
\end{document}

Best Answer

  1. It's enough to load the caption package (you could even set a bigger skip, if needed).

  2. Redefine \arraystretch locally.

  3. Build your table and its footnote using the ctable package.

The code:

\documentclass[12pt,a4paper]{report}
\usepackage{booktabs}
\usepackage{siunitx}
\usepackage{chemmacros}
\usepackage{caption}
\usepackage{ctable}

\begin{document}

{
\renewcommand\arraystretch{1.3}
\addtolength{\tabcolsep}{-2pt} % slight reduction of intercolumn space
\ctable[
  caption = {Naturally occurring long-lived radionuclides and their stable radiogenic daughters frequently used in geochronology.},
  label= {tab:001},
  mincapwidth = \textwidth,
  footerwidth
]
{ccS[table-figures-exponent=2,table-figures-integer=2,table-figures-decimal=3,table-number-alignment=center]c
}
{%
\tnote{$\varepsilon$ = electron capture decay; $\beta^{+}$ = positron decay; $\beta^{-}$ = negatron decay; \\ $\alpha$ = alpha decay.}%
}
{%
  \toprule
  Parent & Decay Modes & {Half-life (years)} & Daughters \\ 
  \midrule
  \ch{^{40}_{19}K}   & $\varepsilon$: \SI{10.72}{\percent}, $\beta^{+}$: \SI{1.0e-3}{\percent} & 1.248e9 & \ch{^{40}_{18}Ar} \\
  \ch{^{40}_{19}K}   & $\beta^{-}$: \SI{89.28}{\percent} & 1.248e9 & \ch{^{40}_{20}Ca} \\
  \ch{^{87}_{37}Rb}  & $\beta^{-}$: $100\%$ & 4.81e10 & \ch{^{87}_{38}Sr} \\
  \ch{^{147}_{62}Sm} & $\alpha$: \SI{100}{\percent} & 1.06e11 & \ch{^{143}_{60}Nd} \\
  \ch{^{176}_{71}Lu} & $\beta^{-}$: \SI{100}{\percent} & 3.76e10 & \ch{^{176}_{72}Hf} \\
  \ch{^{187}_{75}Re} & $\alpha$: \SI{1.0e-4}{\percent}, $\beta^{-}$: \SI{100}{\percent} & 4.33e10 & \ch{^{187}_{76}Os} \\
  \ch{^{232}_{90}Th} & $\alpha$: \SI{100}{\percent}, SF: \SI{1.1e-9}{\percent} & 1.40e10 & \ch{^{208}_{82}Pb} \\
  \ch{^{235}_{92}U}  & $\alpha$: \SI{100}{\percent}, SF: \SI{7.0e-9}{\percent} & 7.04e8 & \ch{^{207}_{82}Pb} \\
  \ch{^{238}_{92}U}  & $\alpha$: \SI{100}{\percent}, SF: \SI{5.5e-5}{\percent} & 4.468e9 & \ch{^{206}_{82}Pb} \\ 
  \bottomrule
}
}

\end{document}

enter image description here

Additional improvements:

  1. The siunitx package was used to format the entries in the third column.

  2. The chemmacros package was used to properly format the sub/superscripts in the first and third columns.

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