For really mind-blowing possibilities, try org-mode[1] under emacs, along with org-babel[2] and LaTeX export.

You can pretty much write and execute your technical paper and your source code simultaneously in arbitrary languages.

I recommend the spacemacs[3] distribution, as the vi interface gets it right.

[1] https://orgmode.org/manual/index.html#Top

[2] https://orgmode.org/manual/Working-with-Source-Code.html#Wor...

[3] http://spacemacs.org/

Equally, AUCTeX in Emacs for direct editing of LaTeX (best TeX editor there is).

(For more complex documents, I've had better luck manipulating TeX directly rather than via another layer, e.g. Org mode, which is fantastic for other things.)

Agreed. Writing with AUCTex plus helm-bibtex is like a dream. I like org-mode but I find it a too limiting for actually writing papers in.

Would you mind elaborating what is so great about AUCTeX? What makes it the best LaTeX editor?