Annals of Mathematics
Encyclopedia
The Annals of Mathematics (abbreviated Ann. Math or Ann. of Math) is a bimonthly mathematical journal
published by Princeton University
and the Institute for Advanced Study
. It ranks amongst the most prestigious mathematics journals in the world by criteria such as impact factor
.
, and was the earliest American mathematics journal to be published continuously for more than a year or two. This incarnation of the journal ceased publication after its tenth year, in 1883, giving as an explanation Hendricks' declining health, but Hendricks made arrangements to have it taken over by new management, and it was continued from March 1884 as the Annals of Mathematics. The new incarnation of the journal was edited by Ormond Stone
(University of Virginia
). It moved to Harvard
in 1899 before reaching its current home in Princeton in 1911.
An important period for the journal was 1928–1958 with Solomon Lefschetz
as editor. During this time, the annals became an increasingly well-known and respected journal. Its rise, in turn, stimulated American mathematics. Norman Steenrod
characterized Lefschetz' impact as editor as follows:"The importance to American mathematicians of a first-class journal is that it sets high standards for them to aim at. In this somewhat indirect manner, Lefschetz profoundly affected the development of mathematics in the United States."
Princeton University continued to publish the annals on its own until 1933, when the Institute for Advanced Study
took joint editorial control. Since 1998 it has been available in an electronic edition, alongside its regular print edition. The electronic edition was available without charge, as an open access journal
, but since 2008 this is no longer the case. Editions before 2003 were transferred to the non-free JSTOR
archive, and articles are not freely available until 5 years after publication.
(Institute for Advanced Study), David Gabai
, Nick Katz
, Peter Sarnak
, Yakov Sinai, and Gang Tian
(all from Princeton University).
, the journal has a 2009 impact factor
of 4.174, ranking it first among 255 journals in the category "Mathematics".
Mathematical journal
A mathematics journal is a scientific journal which publishes exclusively mathematics papers. A practical definition of the current state of mathematics, as a research field, is that it consists of theorems with proofs published in a reputable mathematics journal, and which usually have passed...
published by Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
and the Institute for Advanced Study
Institute for Advanced Study
The Institute for Advanced Study, located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States, is an independent postgraduate center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. It was founded in 1930 by Abraham Flexner...
. It ranks amongst the most prestigious mathematics journals in the world by criteria such as impact factor
Impact factor
The impact factor, often abbreviated IF, is a measure reflecting the average number of citations to articles published in science and social science journals. It is frequently used as a proxy for the relative importance of a journal within its field, with journals with higher impact factors deemed...
.
History
The journal began as The Analyst in 1874 and was established and edited by Joel E. Hendricks. It was "intended to afford a medium for the presentation and analysis of any and all questions of interest or importance in pure and applied Mathematics, embracing especially all new and interesting discoveries in theoretical and practical astronomy, mechanical philosophy, and engineering". It was published in Des Moines, IowaDes Moines, Iowa
Des Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the US state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small portion of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857...
, and was the earliest American mathematics journal to be published continuously for more than a year or two. This incarnation of the journal ceased publication after its tenth year, in 1883, giving as an explanation Hendricks' declining health, but Hendricks made arrangements to have it taken over by new management, and it was continued from March 1884 as the Annals of Mathematics. The new incarnation of the journal was edited by Ormond Stone
Ormond Stone
Ormond Stone , was an astronomer, mathematician and educator. He was the director of Cincinnati Observatory and subsequently the first director of the McCormick Observatory at the University of Virginia, where he trained a significant number of scientists...
(University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
). It moved to Harvard
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in 1899 before reaching its current home in Princeton in 1911.
An important period for the journal was 1928–1958 with Solomon Lefschetz
Solomon Lefschetz
Solomon Lefschetz was an American mathematician who did fundamental work on algebraic topology, its applications to algebraic geometry, and the theory of non-linear ordinary differential equations.-Life:...
as editor. During this time, the annals became an increasingly well-known and respected journal. Its rise, in turn, stimulated American mathematics. Norman Steenrod
Norman Steenrod
Norman Earl Steenrod was a preeminent mathematician most widely known for his contributions to the field of algebraic topology.-Life:...
characterized Lefschetz' impact as editor as follows:"The importance to American mathematicians of a first-class journal is that it sets high standards for them to aim at. In this somewhat indirect manner, Lefschetz profoundly affected the development of mathematics in the United States."
Princeton University continued to publish the annals on its own until 1933, when the Institute for Advanced Study
Institute for Advanced Study
The Institute for Advanced Study, located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States, is an independent postgraduate center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. It was founded in 1930 by Abraham Flexner...
took joint editorial control. Since 1998 it has been available in an electronic edition, alongside its regular print edition. The electronic edition was available without charge, as an open access journal
Open access journal
Open access journals are scholarly journals that are available online to the reader "without financial, legal, or technical barriers other than those inseparable from gaining access to the internet itself." Some are subsidized, and some require payment on behalf of the author.Subsidized journals...
, but since 2008 this is no longer the case. Editions before 2003 were transferred to the non-free JSTOR
JSTOR
JSTOR is an online system for archiving academic journals, founded in 1995. It provides its member institutions full-text searches of digitized back issues of several hundred well-known journals, dating back to 1665 in the case of the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society...
archive, and articles are not freely available until 5 years after publication.
Editors
The current editors of the Annals of Mathematics are Jean BourgainJean Bourgain
Jean Bourgain is a Belgian mathematician. He has been a faculty member at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and, from 1985 until 1995, professor at Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques at Bures-sur-Yvette in France, and since 1994 at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton,...
(Institute for Advanced Study), David Gabai
David Gabai
David Gabai, a mathematician, is currently a professor at Princeton University. Focused on low-dimensional topology and hyperbolic geometry, he is a leading researcher in those subjects....
, Nick Katz
Nick Katz
Nicholas Michael Katz is an American mathematician, working in the fields of algebraic geometry, particularly on p-adic methods, monodromy and moduli problems, and number theory...
, Peter Sarnak
Peter Sarnak
Peter Clive Sarnak is a South African-born mathematician. He has been Eugene Higgins Professor of Mathematics at Princeton University since 2002, succeeding Andrew Wiles, and is an editor of the Annals of Mathematics...
, Yakov Sinai, and Gang Tian
Gang Tian
Tian Gang is a Chinese mathematician and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He is known for his contributions to geometric analysis and quantum cohomology, among other fields...
(all from Princeton University).
Impact
According to the Journal Citation ReportsJournal Citation Reports
Journal Citation Reports is an annual publication by the Healthcare & Science division of Thomson Reuters. It has been integrated with the Web of Knowledge, by Thomson Reuters, and is accessed from the Web of Science to JCR Web. It provides information about academic journals in the sciences and...
, the journal has a 2009 impact factor
Impact factor
The impact factor, often abbreviated IF, is a measure reflecting the average number of citations to articles published in science and social science journals. It is frequently used as a proxy for the relative importance of a journal within its field, with journals with higher impact factors deemed...
of 4.174, ranking it first among 255 journals in the category "Mathematics".