Acta Mathematicae Applicatae Sinica

About Acta Mathematicae Applicatae Sinica

Overview

Acta Mathematicae Applicatae Sinica, English Series, is a peer-reviewed international journal devoted to applied mathematics. Published quarterly by Springer on behalf of the Chinese Mathematical Society, it has served since 1984 as a window through which the international mathematical community follows developments in Chinese applied mathematics research. The journal publishes original papers that apply mathematical methods and analysis to problems arising in the natural sciences, engineering, technology, economics, and other quantitative disciplines.

The English series complements a longer-running Chinese-language counterpart, bringing work by researchers in China and abroad to a global English-reading audience. Its scope spans the full breadth of modern applied mathematics: differential equations and dynamical systems, probability and stochastic processes, statistics and econometrics, optimization and operations research, combinatorics and graph theory, computational and numerical mathematics, control theory, and mathematical modeling. According to directory records, the journal is covered by the Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE) and Scopus, placing it among the established applied-mathematics titles with a 2025 Journal Impact Factor of about 0.87 (SciJournal, attributed) and a Scopus h-index of 35–36.

Journal Identity and Bibliographic Details

The journal is registered with standard bibliographic identifiers including LCCN 88644045 and OCLC no. 49608778. Its Springer journal number is 10255, under which author instructions, editorial board listings, and online-first articles are maintained on Springer Nature Link.

History

The story of Acta Mathematicae Applicatae Sinica begins in 1984, when the Chinese Mathematical Society established the journal to give applied mathematics in China a dedicated scholarly outlet. The timing coincided with a period of rapid scientific rebuilding in China: after the disruptions of the Cultural Revolution era, Chinese universities and research institutes were re-expanding their mathematics programs, and researchers needed journals through which their applied work could reach both domestic and international readers.

The English Series was created to carry selected and newly submitted papers in English, ensuring that important results from Chinese institutions were accessible to the worldwide mathematical community. From its early volumes, the journal emphasized rigorous analysis applied to real problems — a tradition reflected in its earliest indexed papers on statistics, stochastic processes, and differential equations.

Publishing continuity, as recorded in the Scopus title history, runs 1984–1985 and 1987–2026, indicating an uninterrupted presence in international indexing for nearly four decades. In 2020 the journal recorded a Journal Impact Factor of 1.102, its highest widely cited figure (Journal Citation Reports), before subsequent metrics settled in the 0.8–0.9 range — a pattern consistent with many mid-tier applied mathematics journals as citation dynamics and JCR methodology evolved. Throughout, the journal has remained a quarterly Springer title anchored by the Chinese Mathematical Society and the Institute of Applied Mathematics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, which holds the copyright.

A parallel Chinese-language edition, Acta Mathematicae Applicatae Sinica (Chinese Series), continues to serve domestic readers; authors and readers should take care not to confuse the two series when citing or submitting. The English Series is the internationally indexed version tracked by SCIE and Scopus.

Aims and Scope

The journal's scope covers applied mathematics in its broadest sense. Based on the journal's published profile and its indexed article record, the principal subject areas include:

• Mathematical analysis: real and functional analysis, partial differential equations, boundary value problems, asymptotic methods.
• Probability and stochastic processes: stochastic differential equations, nonlinear expectations, G-Brownian motion, stochastic control.
• Statistics and econometrics: regression diagnostics, nonparametric and semiparametric methods, time series, survival analysis, robust statistics.
• Optimization and operations research: convex and nonconvex optimization, algorithms, convergence analysis, scheduling and routing.
• Combinatorics and discrete mathematics: graph theory, combinatorial designs, discrete optimization.
• Differential equations and dynamical systems: ordinary and partial differential equations, delay equations, stability and bifurcation theory.
• Computational and numerical mathematics: numerical methods for PDEs, scientific computing, inverse problems.
• Control theory and systems: optimal control, stochastic control, systems identification.
• Mathematical modeling: models in biology, medicine, finance, insurance, engineering, and the physical sciences.

Topic analysis of the journal's corpus (Research.com, attributed) finds mathematical analysis the dominant theme at roughly 38 percent of content, followed by combinatorics at about 19 percent and applied mathematics proper at about 15 percent, with statistics, estimator theory, and mathematical optimization also strongly represented. This distribution underlines the journal's identity as a venue where theoretical development and application are treated together rather than separately.

The journal welcomes papers that introduce new mathematical ideas, prove substantive theorems, or demonstrate novel applications of mathematical methods to scientific and technological problems. Expository surveys of emerging areas are published from time to time, but the bulk of each quarterly issue consists of original research articles.

Editorial Leadership

Directory records name Zhi-Ming Ma, of the Academy of Mathematics and Systems Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, as editor. Readers are advised to consult the live editorial board page on Springer Nature Link for the current roster, as editorships and board memberships change over time and the present profile was compiled from directory and encyclopedic sources rather than a live masthead capture. The journal is published in cooperation with the Editorial Committee of Applied Mathematics of the Chinese Mathematical Society, and copyright is held by the Institute of Applied Mathematics, Academy of Mathematics and System Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Peer Review Process

As a Springer peer-reviewed journal, Acta Mathematicae Applicatae Sinica operates a conventional scholarly review workflow: manuscripts are submitted through Springer's online submission system, screened by the editorial office for scope and basic quality, and sent to independent expert referees for evaluation. Referees assess originality, technical correctness, significance, and clarity of exposition; authors revise in response to referee reports before a final editorial decision.

Specific operational details — such as whether review is single- or double-anonymous, the typical number of reviewers per manuscript, and median times from submission to first decision — are not publicly documented in the sources consulted for this profile and are therefore not stated here. Authors should consult the journal's current "Submission guidelines" page on Springer Nature Link for the operative instructions, including formatting requirements (typically LaTeX with Springer templates), reference style, and any page or length guidance.

One aggregator describes the journal's publication time as "quick (1–3 months)" with low submission competitiveness (SciJournal, attributed); these are third-party characterizations, not publisher statements, and actual timelines vary by manuscript and reviewer availability.

Open Access Policy

Acta Mathematicae Applicatae Sinica is a hybrid journal: the default publication route is subscription-based, while authors may choose Springer's Open Choice option to make their individual article openly accessible on payment of an article processing charge. The exact current APC for this title is not stated in the sources consulted and is not asserted here; authors should check the journal's Springer page or contact the editorial office. Open-access articles under Springer hybrid terms are typically published under a Creative Commons license, with authors retaining copyright.

Authors publishing via the subscription route sign a copyright transfer to the Institute of Applied Mathematics, Academy of Mathematics and System Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, consistent with the copyright notice carried on the Springer journal page.

Indexing and Abstracting

The journal is abstracted and indexed in an extensive set of services. According to the official Springer journal page (link.springer.com/journal/10255), these include:

• Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE)
• Scopus
• Mathematical Reviews (MathSciNet)
• zbMATH
• Chinese Science Citation Database
• CNKI and Wanfang
• EBSCO and ProQuest discovery services
• Google Scholar and Dimensions
• OCLC WorldCat Discovery Service
• ANVUR, Norwegian Register for Scientific Journals and Series, INIS Atomindex, eLibrary.ru, Baidu, Naver, Ovid Discovery, TD Net Discovery Service
• Archiving: CLOCKSS and Portico

Coverage history in Scopus is recorded as 1984–1985 and 1987–2026, and the journal is also listed in the UGC CARE directory (journalsearches.com, attributed).

Impact Metrics

Citation metrics for the journal, with sources and years attributed (verify against live databases before citing):

The journal's rank among applied-mathematics titles places it in the middle band of the field: SciJournal's 2025 computation puts its impact factor above roughly 46 percent of mathematics journals and its h-index above about 60 percent of all journals. A five-year view shows the impact factor declining from 1.316 (2020) to 0.870 (2025), a trajectory the aggregator flags as "declining" — a trend readers should interpret alongside field-wide changes in JCR methodology and citation behavior rather than as a statement about individual article quality.

Submission Guidelines

Authors prepare manuscripts in English and submit through Springer's online manuscript system linked from the journal homepage. Standard expectations for a Springer mathematics journal apply:

• Manuscript preparation: LaTeX is strongly preferred, using Springer's article templates; the manuscript should include a concise abstract, keywords, and Mathematics Subject Classification (MSC) codes where applicable.
• Originality: submissions must be original, unpublished, and not under consideration elsewhere.
• Length and structure: no fixed page limit is publicly stated for this title; authors should follow the general Springer guidance and any instructions in the journal's submission guidelines.
• References: complete bibliographic details in a consistent style; MathSciNet links are encouraged where available.
• Ethics statements: funding disclosures, conflict-of-interest statements, and any required ethical approvals should be included per Springer policy.

Because the journal publishes an English Series alongside a Chinese Series, authors should confirm they are submitting to the English-language international edition (ISSN 0168-9673 / 1618-3932).

Publication Ethics

As a Springer Nature title, the journal follows the publisher's standard publication-ethics framework: manuscripts are expected to be original, plagiarism is screened, authorship must reflect genuine contribution, data and methods should be reported transparently enough for verification, and conflicts of interest must be disclosed. Corrections and retractions, when needed, follow Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidance as implemented by Springer Nature. Specific journal-level ethics statements (e.g., a dedicated ethics page for this title) were not located in the sources consulted; the operative policies are those published by Springer Nature and linked from the journal homepage.

Research Highlights and Most Cited Papers

Among the journal's most cited papers (Research.com / OOIR, attributed), three stand out:

• "Geometric processes and replacement problem" — approximately 237 citations, the journal's most cited paper in the attributed dataset, contributing to reliability and maintenance modeling.
• "On representation theorem of G-expectations and paths of G-Brownian motion" — approximately 138 citations, in the stochastic analysis area associated with nonlinear expectation theory.
• "Filtration Consistent Nonlinear Expectations and Evaluations of Contingent Claims" — approximately 109 citations, connecting nonlinear expectation to mathematical finance.

These highly cited works illustrate the journal's strength at the interface of probability theory, stochastic analysis, and financial mathematics — areas in which Chinese research groups have been internationally prominent.

How to Access the Journal

The journal is available through Springer Nature Link (journal 10255), where current issues, online-first articles, and the archive can be browsed. Institutional access is typically provided through library subscriptions; individual articles may be purchased or accessed via the hybrid open-access route. Abstracting databases such as MathSciNet, zbMATH, Scopus, and Web of Science index the journal's contents for discovery. Print subscriptions follow the quarterly schedule; the original version and archival record include the print ISSN 0168-9673.

The Journal in the Chinese Mathematical Community

Acta Mathematicae Applicatae Sinica occupies a distinctive position in China's mathematical publishing landscape. Alongside journals such as Science China Mathematics, Acta Mathematica Sinica (English Series), and Applied Mathematics and Mechanics (English Edition), it forms part of the core set of English-language mathematics journals through which Chinese research reaches international audiences. Its specific niche — applied rather than pure mathematics — distinguishes it from the more theory-oriented Acta Mathematica Sinica, and its society ownership by the Chinese Mathematical Society gives it a quasi-official standing in the domestic research evaluation system, where publication in recognized society journals carries weight in academic promotion and funding decisions.

The journal also serves an important training function: for many Chinese applied mathematicians, particularly in statistics, stochastic analysis, and optimization, it has been a first international publication venue, offering rigorous peer review and Springer production standards while remaining more accessible than the top-tier generalist journals. The presence of highly cited papers on G-expectation and nonlinear expectation theory in its pages reflects genuine research strengths of the Chinese probability community that the journal has helped to showcase.

Reading and Citing the Journal

When citing the journal, use the ISO 4 abbreviation Acta Math. Appl. Sin. and include the series designation "(English Series)" where ambiguity with the Chinese Series could arise. The two series have different ISSNs and different indexing coverage; citations should always reference the English Series ISSNs (0168-9673 print, 1618-3932 online) for papers appearing in this profile's title. Digital object identifiers (DOIs) assigned through Springer provide persistent links for all recent articles. Librarians cataloging the title should note the copyright holder — the Institute of Applied Mathematics, Academy of Mathematics and System Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences — and the quarterly frequency when setting up subscription and holdings records. Researchers new to the journal may find it useful to browse several recent issues before submitting, to gauge the prevailing level of mathematical rigor, the typical balance between theory and application, and the formatting conventions the editorial office expects.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the impact factor of Acta Mathematicae Applicatae Sinica?

Attribution matters here. The 2020 Journal Citation Reports figure was 1.102; more recent aggregator computations put the 2024–2025 impact factor at roughly 0.87–0.9 (SciJournal, Research.com). Always verify the current figure in Journal Citation Reports before citing it.

Is Acta Mathematicae Applicatae Sinica indexed in SCIE and Scopus?

Yes. The official Springer journal page lists both Science Citation Index Expanded and Scopus among its abstracting and indexing services, with Scopus coverage recorded from 1984–1985 and 1987 to the present.

Who publishes Acta Mathematicae Applicatae Sinica?

Springer publishes the English Series quarterly on behalf of the Chinese Mathematical Society; copyright is held by the Institute of Applied Mathematics, Academy of Mathematics and System Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

What are the ISSNs of the journal?

Print ISSN 0168-9673 and electronic ISSN 1618-3932 for the English Series.

Is the journal open access?

It is a hybrid journal: subscription by default, with an optional paid open-access route (Springer Open Choice). The current APC is not publicly stated in the sources consulted.

What subjects does the journal cover?

Applied mathematics broadly: analysis, differential equations, probability and statistics, optimization, combinatorics, computational mathematics, control theory, and mathematical modeling in science and engineering.

How often is it published?

Quarterly — four issues per year.

What is the difference between the English Series and the Chinese Series?

The English Series (this profile) publishes in English for an international audience and is the SCIE/Scopus-indexed version; the Chinese Series serves domestic Chinese-language readers. They are distinct series with different ISSNs.