The SMAI journal of computational mathematics

Christophe Berthon

Marianne Bessemoulin-Chatard

Hélène Mathis

Numerical convergence rate for a diffusive limit of hyperbolic systems: $p$-system with damping

Grégoire Allaire

Charles Dapogny

A deterministic approximation method in shape optimization under random uncertainties

Douglas N. Arnold

Thierry Goudon

SMAI-JCM
SMAI Journal of
Computational Mathematics
The SMAI Journal of
Computational Mathematics
Douglas N. Arnold & Thierry Goudon
Volume 1 (2015), p. 1-3.
<http://smai-jcm.cedram.org/item?id=SMAI-JCM_2015__1__1_0>
© Société de Mathématiques Appliquées et Industrielles, 2015
Certains droits réservés.
cedram
Article mis en ligne dans le cadre du
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SMAI Journal of Computational Mathematics
Vol. 1, 1-3 (2015)
The SMAI Journal of Computational Mathematics
Douglas N. Arnold 1
Thierry Goudon 2
1 Department of Mathematics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
E-mail address: arnold@umn.edu
2 Inria Sophia Antipolis Méditerranée, France
E-mail address: thierry.goudon@inria.fr.
A widely accessible, carefully peer-reviewed scientific literature is truly important. It is crucial to
effective research, and hence has significant impact upon the world’s health, security, and prosperity.
However, the high cost of many journals blocks access to many researchers and institutions, and places
an unsustainable drain on the resources of others. Addressing this issue, the Société de Mathématiques
Appliquées et Industrielles or SMAI, the French professional society for applied and industrial math-
ematics, has committed to the founding of a new journal of computational mathematics: the SMAI
Journal of Computational Mathematics, or SMAI-JCM, which will be freely accessible to all, and will
not require the payment of fees for publication.
The journal, which has just commenced operations and is reviewing its first submissions, intends
to publish high quality research articles on the design and analysis of algorithms for computing the
numerical solution of mathematical problems arising in applications. Such mathematical problems
may be continuous or discrete, deterministic or stochastic. Relevant applications span the sciences,
social sciences, engineering, and technology. SMAI-JCM, reflecting the broad interests of a strong and
diverse international editorial board, takes a broad view of computational mathematics, ranging from
the more analytical (numerical analysis) to the more applied (scientific computing and computational
science). In particular, the journal welcomes submissions addressing:
• Computational linear and nonlinear algebra
• Numerical solution of ordinary and partial differential equations
• Discrete and continuous optimization and control
• Computational geometry and topology
• Image and signal processing
• Processing of large data sets
• Numerical aspects of probability and statistics; assessment of uncertainties in computational
simulations
• Computational issues arising in the simulation of physical or biological phenomenon, engineer-
ing, the social sciences or other applications
• Computational issues arising from new computer technologies
• Description, construction and review of test cases and benchmarks
1
D. N. Arnold & T. Goudon
As this list indicates, the editorial board recognizes that excellence in computational math arises
from a broad spectrum of researchers and viewpoints, and encourages submissions of different sorts,
with varying balance between computational results and theoretical analysis. Typically the strongest
submissions are expected to involve both aspects. The journal will also provide for the publication of
supplementary materials such as computer codes or animations.
Peer review will be carried out at SMAI-JCM just as in top traditional journals, and the journal will
strive to maintain the highest ethical standards and to employ the best practices of modern scholarly
journal publication. However the journal’s business model is a radical departure from current practice.
All papers accepted by SMAI-JCM will be electronically published in full open access, downloadable
by anyone, without delay and in perpetuity. Publication in SMAI-JCM is also entirely free to authors,
with the only barrier being scientific quality as determined by careful peer review, not financial. Of
course, the publication of a high quality journal does incur costs, in addition to the freely given efforts
of authors, editors, and referees. For SMAI-JCM these financial costs are directly borne by SMAI and
other sponsoring organizations. We believe that this approach is the most promising way to achieve the
goal of universal access to the scientific literature, and we hope that a successful SMAI-JCM will not
only improve the publishing of computational mathematics, but serve as a model for other journals.
Context for the new journal can be found in a recent report1 by ICSU, the International Council
for Science, whose members are primarily scientific unions, such as the International Mathematical
Union, and national academies of science. The report advocated the following goals: “The scientific
record should be:
• free of financial barriers for any researcher to contribute to;
• free of financial barriers for any user to access immediately on publication;
• made available without restriction on reuse for any purpose, subject to proper attribution;
• quality-assured and published in a timely manner; and
• archived and made available in perpetuity.”
Unfortunately, these goals are far from realization. In the area of computational mathematics, for
example, a single well-known computational physics journal charges annual subscription fees that
vary between $6,652 and $11,396 for online institutional access, well more than many institutions can
afford,2 and numerous other journals charge very steep fees. Despite the massive revenues generated
for the publisher by these fees, the articles published are not “free of financial barriers for any user
to access immediately on publication,” but only freely available to users from subscriber institutions.
Authors wishing to have their papers placed in open access, are required to pay an additional fee of
$2,200.3
After studying the situation the ICSU report concludes that the resources used to support scientific
publication are sufficient to bring about a scientific literature as described above: free of financial
barriers to access or contribution, while maintaining quality peer review and the best practices in
publishing. The obstacle to such a system comes not from the available resources, but rather from
the current business models predominant in scholarly publishing. If these models are to change, it
will surely have to be researchers themselves, the people who provide the content for the journals
and carry out the key editorial and refereeing roles, to bring this about. Similar conclusions have
1http://www.icsu.org/general-assembly/news/ICSU%20Report%20on%20Open%20Access.pdf
2http://store.elsevier.com/product.jsp?issn=00219991
3http://www.elsevier.com/journals/journal-of-computational-physics/0021-9991/guide-for-authors#
13510
2
SMAI-JCM
been arrived at in other reports, as well. An October 2014 report4 of the French Academy of Sciences
called on scientists to “regain control of costs for activities that relate to dissemination of scientific
information,” while reaffirming “the primary need for peer–reviewing of articles before publication by
academic research scientists,” and the importance of “participation of academics in the final approval
decisions.”
SMAI-JCM is responding to these calls, offering a model of journal publication which, if widely
deployed, can make these goals a reality. Our success in this depends crucially on the acceptance and
support of SMAI-JCM by the community. We very much encourage the submission of strong papers
in computational mathematics to the journal. Please visit the journal at
https://ojs.math.cnrs.fr/index.php/SMAI-JCM
and help us take a step towards quality, accessible, ethical publishing in mathematics.
4http://www.academie-sciences.fr/presse/communique/rads_241014.pdf
3


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Numerical convergence rate for a diffusive limit of hyperbolic systems: $p$ -system with damping