Experimental Mathematics (journal)
Encyclopedia
Experimental Mathematics is a quarterly scientific journal
of mathematics
published by A K Peters, Ltd.
until 2004, now by Taylor & Francis. The journal publishes papers in experimental mathematics
, broadly construed. The journal's mission statement describes its scope as follows: "Experimental Mathematics publishes original papers featuring formal results inspired by experimentation, conjectures suggested by experiments, and data supporting significant hypotheses." the editor-in-chief is Yuri Tschinkel (Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences
).
, Silvio Levy, and Klaus Peters. Experimental Mathematics was the first mathematical research journal to concentrate on experimental mathematics
and to explicitly acknowledge its importance for mathematics
as a general research field. The journal's launching was described as "something of a watershed". Indeed, the launching of the journal in 1992 was surrounded by some controversy in the mathematical community about the value and validity of experimentation in mathematical research. Some critics of the new journal suggested that it be renamed as the "Journal of Unproved Theorems". In a 1995 article in the Notices of the American Mathematical Society, in part responding to such criticism, Epstein and Levy described the journal's aims as follows:
In recent years a number of other research journals in pure mathematics have substantially expanded their coverage of experimental mathematics and new journals devoted in large part to experimental mathematics have been launched. Thus, in 1998 the London Mathematical Society
launched LMS Journal of Computation and Mathematics and in 2004 the Journal of Algebra
started a new section called "Computational Algebra".
Despite the initial controversy, Experimental Mathematics quickly established a solid reputation and is now a highly respected mathematical publication. The journal is reviewed cover-to-cover in Mathematical Reviews
and Zentralblatt MATH
and is indexed in the Web of Science
. According to the 2008 Journal Citation Reports
, its impact factor
is 0.693, ranking it 79th out of 215 in the category Mathematics.
Scientific journal
In academic publishing, a scientific journal is a periodical publication intended to further the progress of science, usually by reporting new research. There are thousands of scientific journals in publication, and many more have been published at various points in the past...
of mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
published by A K Peters, Ltd.
A K Peters, Ltd.
A K Peters, Ltd. is a publisher of scientific and technical books, specializing in mathematics and in computer graphics, robotics, and other fields of computer science. They publish the journals Experimental Mathematics, Internet Mathematics, and the Journal of Graphics Tools. The company was...
until 2004, now by Taylor & Francis. The journal publishes papers in experimental mathematics
Experimental mathematics
Experimental mathematics is an approach to mathematics in which numerical computation is used to investigate mathematical objects and identify properties and patterns...
, broadly construed. The journal's mission statement describes its scope as follows: "Experimental Mathematics publishes original papers featuring formal results inspired by experimentation, conjectures suggested by experiments, and data supporting significant hypotheses." the editor-in-chief is Yuri Tschinkel (Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences
Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences
The Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences is an independent division of New York University under the Faculty of Arts & Science that serves as a center for research and advanced training in computer science and mathematics...
).
History
Experimental Mathematics was established in 1992 by David EpsteinDavid Epstein (mathematician)
David Bernard Alper Epstein FRS is a mathematician known for his work in hyperbolic geometry, 3-manifolds, and group theory, amongst other fields. He co-founded David Bernard Alper Epstein FRS (b. 1937) is a mathematician known for his work in hyperbolic geometry, 3-manifolds, and group theory,...
, Silvio Levy, and Klaus Peters. Experimental Mathematics was the first mathematical research journal to concentrate on experimental mathematics
Experimental mathematics
Experimental mathematics is an approach to mathematics in which numerical computation is used to investigate mathematical objects and identify properties and patterns...
and to explicitly acknowledge its importance for mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
as a general research field. The journal's launching was described as "something of a watershed". Indeed, the launching of the journal in 1992 was surrounded by some controversy in the mathematical community about the value and validity of experimentation in mathematical research. Some critics of the new journal suggested that it be renamed as the "Journal of Unproved Theorems". In a 1995 article in the Notices of the American Mathematical Society, in part responding to such criticism, Epstein and Levy described the journal's aims as follows:
But the main difference reflects the philosophy above: we are interested not only in theorems and proofs but also in the way in which they have been or can be reached. Note that we do value proofs: experimentally inspired results that can be proved are more desirable than conjectural ones. However, we do publish significant conjectures or explorations in the hope of inspiring other, perhaps better-equipped researchers to carry on the investigation. The objective of Experimental Mathematics is to play a role in the discovery of formal proofs, not to displace them.
In recent years a number of other research journals in pure mathematics have substantially expanded their coverage of experimental mathematics and new journals devoted in large part to experimental mathematics have been launched. Thus, in 1998 the London Mathematical Society
London Mathematical Society
-See also:* American Mathematical Society* Edinburgh Mathematical Society* European Mathematical Society* List of Mathematical Societies* Council for the Mathematical Sciences* BCS-FACS Specialist Group-External links:* * *...
launched LMS Journal of Computation and Mathematics and in 2004 the Journal of Algebra
Journal of Algebra
Journal of Algebra is a leading international mathematical research journal in algebra. An imprint of Academic Press, it is presently published by Elsevier. Journal of Algebra was founded by Graham Higman, who was its editor from 1964 to 1984. From 1985 until 2000, Walter Feit served as its...
started a new section called "Computational Algebra".
Despite the initial controversy, Experimental Mathematics quickly established a solid reputation and is now a highly respected mathematical publication. The journal is reviewed cover-to-cover in Mathematical Reviews
Mathematical Reviews
Mathematical Reviews is a journal and online database published by the American Mathematical Society that contains brief synopses of many articles in mathematics, statistics and theoretical computer science.- Reviews :...
and Zentralblatt MATH
Zentralblatt MATH
Zentralblatt MATH is a service providing reviews and abstracts for articles in pure and applied mathematics, published by Springer Science+Business Media. It is a major international reviewing service which covers the entire field of mathematics...
and is indexed in the Web of Science
Web of Science
ISI Web of Knowledge is an academic citation indexing and search service, which is combined with web linking and provided by Thomson Reuters. Web of Knowledge coverage encompasses the sciences, social sciences, arts and humanities. It provides bibliographic content and the tools to access, analyze,...
. According to the 2008 Journal Citation Reports
Journal 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...
, its 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...
is 0.693, ranking it 79th out of 215 in the category Mathematics.