Aims & Scope

Theoretical Computer Science is mathematical and abstract in spirit, but it derives its motivation from practical and everyday computation. Its aim is to understand the nature of computation and, as a consequence of this understanding, provide more efficient methodologies. All papers introducing or studying mathematical, logic and formal concepts and methods are welcome, provided that their motivation is clearly drawn from the field of computing.

Any queries about submissions and peer review should be addressed to the TCS editorial office: tcs@elsevier.com.

Papers published in Theoretical Computer Science are grouped in three sections according to their nature. The first section `Algorithms, automata, complexity and games' is devoted to the study of algorithms and their complexity using analytical, combinatorial or probabilistic methods. It includes the whole field of abstract complexity (i.e. all the results about the hierarchies that can be defined using Turing machines), the whole field of automata and language theory (including automata on infinite words and infinitary languages), the whole field of geometrical (graphic) applications and the whole field of measurement of system performance using statistical methods.

The second section,`Logic, semantics and theory of programming', is devoted to formal methods to check properties of programs or implement formally described languages; it contains all papers dealing with semantics of sequential and parallel programming languages. All formal methods treating these problems are published in this section, including rewriting techniques, abstract data types, automatic theorem proving, calculi such as SCP or CCS, Petri nets, new logic calculi and developments in categorical methods.

The third section, 'Natural Computing', is devoted to the study of computing occurring in nature and computing inspired by nature. In the rapidly evolving field of computer science, natural computing plays an important role as the catalyst for the synergy of human designed computing with the computing going on in nature. This synergy leads to a deeper and broader understanding of the nature of computation. Although natural computing is concerned also with experiments and applications, this section of Theoretical Computer Science is focused on the theoretical aspects of natural computing with clear relevance to computing. Among others, it will contain papers dealing with the theoretical issues in evolutionary computing, neural networks, molecular computing, and quantum computing.

Theoretical Computer Science will now publish high-quality advanced introductions. Advanced introductions, which are by invitation only, should cover a focused topic within the scope of TCS at a level that would be appropriate for a scientist who is new to the topic and wishes to gain an up-to-date understanding. Articles should be self-contained, including motivation and basic definitions, and proceed to advanced material and/or open problems which may - but need not - include new results. Sufficient references should be given to provide the reader with entry points to the research literature on the topic as well as the origins of the main ideas. Submissions will go through the standard review process of TCS.

Special Issue on The 20th and 21th International Conferences on Distributed Computing and Intelligent Technology
Submission Date: 2025-11-01

Guest editors:

Quentin Bramas, 
Associate Professor at the University of Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France

Stéphane Devismes,
Professor at University of Picardie Jules Verne, Amiens, France

Partha Sarathi Mandal, 
Professor at Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, North Guwahati, India
Krishnendu Mukhopadhyaya,
Professor at Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata, India 

Special issue information:

The special issue contains a selection of papers presented in the DC track at the 20th and 21th International Conference on Distributed Computing and Intelligent Technology (ICDCIT 2024 and 2025). ICDCIT 2024 was held on January 17-20, 2024 in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India and ICDCIT 2025 will be held on January 8-11, 2025 in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India. ICDCIT aims to bring together a wide range of researchers to exchange research results and ideas on the foundations and application of distributed computing and intelligent technology. The main themes of the DC track of the conference are:

    Autonomous Computing, Self-organization, and Self-stabilization
    Distributed Graph Algorithms
    Fault-tolerant Algorithms
    Game-Theoretic Approaches to Distributed Computing
    Mobile Robots, Autonomous Agents,
    Programmable Particles, Nanoscale Robots.

The authors of the selected papers as well as keynote/invited/distinguished speakers of the ICDCIT conference will be the contributors to the special issue.

Special Issue on Algorithms and Discrete Applied Mathematics (CALDAM 2025)
Submission Date: 2025-11-01

Guest editors:

Rogers Mathew, Associate Professor
Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad
Research interests: Graph theory, combinatorics, graph algorithms.

Daya Gaur, Professor
University of Lethbridge
Research interests: Approximation Algorithms, Discrete and Combinatorial Optimization and Quantum Computation.

Special issue information:

The special issue contains full versions of a subset of papers with algorithmic flavour that were presented in CALDAM 2025 that was held during February 13-15, 2025 at PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore, India. CALDAM 2025 is a forum for presenting papers describing original research in the areas of (i) design and analysis of algorithms and in (ii) discrete applied mathematics. An indicative list of sub-areas are given here: Approximation Algorithms | Combinatorial Algorithms | Combinatorics | Data Structures | Parallel and Distributed Algorithms | Combinatorial Geometry | Graph Drawing | Graph Theory | Computational Geometry | Online Algorithms | Network Optimization | | Randomized Algorithms | Parameterized Complexity | Theoretical Aspects of Machine Learning | Computational Learning Theory.

Special Issue on the 21st International Symposium on Algorithmics of Wireless Networks (ALGOWIN 2025)
Submission Date: 2025-11-30

Guest editors:

Othon Michail, Senior Lecturer in Computer Science, University of Liverpool, UK– ALGOWIN 2025 PC cochair
Giuseppe Prencipe, Associate Professor of Computer Science, University of Pisa, Italy – ALGOWIN 2025 PC co-chair

Special issue information:

This issue of TCS will contain around 4-5 selected papers from the 21st International Symposium on Algorithmics of Wireless Networks (ALGOWIN 2025), to be held in Warsaw, Poland, September 18- 19, 2025. ALGOWIN (previously known as ALGOSENSORS) is an international symposium dedicated to the algorithmic aspects of wireless networks. It covers algorithmic issues arising in wireless networks of all types of computational entities, mobile or static, including sensor networks, sensor-actuator networks, and autonomous robots and drones. The focus is on the design and analysis of algorithms, models of computation, graph and network algorithms, and experimental analysis.

As in previous ALGOWIN/ALGOSENSORS SIs in TCS, the papers will be chosen by the program committee from the regular papers presented at the symposium based on their quality and representation of the range of the ALGOWIN program. In addition to being reviewed in preliminary form by the program committee, the revised and extended versions submitted by the authors to the special issue will be evaluated according to the standard thorough reviewing process of TCS.

Manuscript submission information:
Final Date For Submission: 30th November 2025

Please note that the submission is via invitation only for this special issue.

Special Issue on Computing and Combinatorics 2025
Submission Date: 2025-12-10

This special issue is dedicated to selected papers published in the 31st International Computing and Combinatorics Conference (COCOON 2025), which will be held in Chengdu, China during 15-17 August, 2025. COCOON is an international forum for researchers working in the areas of algorithms, theory of computation, computational complexity, and combinatorics related to computing.

Guest editors:

Dr. Fedor V. Fomin (PC Co-Chair of COCOON 2025)University of Bergen, Norway
Dr. Mingyu Xiao (PC Co-Chair of COCOON 2025)University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, China

Special issue information:

The range of topics within the scope of COCOON includes:

    Algorithms and Data Structures
    Algorithmic Game Theory and Mechanism Design
    Approximation Algorithms and Online Algorithms
    Automata, Languages, Logic, and Computability
    Combinatorics Related to Algorithms and Complexity
    Complexity Theory
    Computational Learning Theory and Knowledge Discovery
    Cryptography, Reliability and Security, and Database Theory
    Computational Biology and Bioinformatics
    Computational Algebra, Geometry, and Number Theory
    Exact and Parameterized Algorithms
    Graph Drawing and Information Visualization
    Graph Theory, Communication Networks, and Optimization
    Parallel and Distributed Computing

Manuscript submission information:

Final Manuscript Submission Deadline: December 10, 2025

Please note that the submission is via invitation only for this special issue.

Special Issue on ICDCN 2026 (Distributed Computing Track)
Submission Date: 2026-01-31

This special issue aims at publishing the full papers of top scientific abstracts in the area of Distributed Systems presented in the proceedings of the 26th International Conference on Distributed Computing and Networking (ICDCN) 2026, taking place in Nara, Japan.

Guest editors:

Professor Vincent Gramoli
Affiliation: The University of Sydney and Redbelly Network
Field of Interest: Secure Distributed Computing

Professor Idit Keidar,
Lord Leonard Wolfson Academic Chair
Affiliation: Technion – Israel Institute of Technology
Field of interest: Distributed and parallel computing

Special issue information:

ICDCN usually publishes its proceedings in the area of both Distributed Systems and Networking in the ACM International Conference Proceeding Series (ICPS) where best papers of the Distributed Systems area are selected for fast-track in a TCS special issue. The areas of interest include:

    Cloud Computing and Big Data Processing
    Concurrency, Synchronization, and Persistence
    Distributed Algorithms: Design, Analysis, and Complexity
    Distributed Computing Aspects of Blockchains
    Distributed Graph Algorithms
    Distributed Embedded Systems
    Distributed Operating Systems, Storage and Database Systems
    Distributed Quantum Computing
    Edge Computing and Mobile Offloading
    Fault-tolerance, Reliability, and Availability of Distributed Systems
    Formal Methods for Distributed Systems
    High performance Computing and Grid Computing
    Machine Learning in Distributed Computing and Networking
    Pervasive and Mobile Computing
    Scalable Distributed Systems
    Secure Multi-Party Computation
    Security, Privacy and Game Theory in Distributed Computing and Networking
    Self-organization, Self-stabilization, and Autonomic Computing
    Social Networks

Special Issue on the 19th Annual Conference on Theory and Applications of Models of Computation (TAMC 2025)
Submission Date: 2026-03-01

This Special Issue of Theoretical Computer Science features selected high-quality papers from the 19th Annual Conference on Theory and Applications of Models of Computation (TAMC 2025) . It presents cutting-edge research in theoretical computer science, covering algorithm design, computational complexity, models of computation, and interdisciplinary applications.

Guest editors:

Dr. Dingzhu Du, 
University of Texas at Dallas, U.S.A.
Fields of Interest: Combinatorial Optimization, Computational Complexity

Dr. Peng Zhang,
Shandong University, Jinan, China
Fields of Interest: Algorithm Design and Analysis, Combinatorial Optimization

Dr. Yang Zhou,
Shandong Normal University, Jinan, China
Fields of Interest: Submodular optimization, Optimization methods in machine learning

Special issue information:

This Special Issue will include high-quality papers from TAMC 2025, focusing on algorithm design, computational complexity, and interdisciplinary applications. The topics covered include, but are not limited to:

    Computational complexity and algorithms
    Models of computation
    Automata theory and formal languages
    Quantum computing
    Algorithmic game theory
    Cryptography and data security
    Computational biology and bioinformatics
    Parallel and distributed computing
    Formal verification and program analysis
    Computational geometry and graph theory
    Logic and proof theory
    Computational social choice
    Combinatorial optimization

These topics reflect a shared goal of advancing foundational knowledge in computation theory while addressing real-world problems through innovative methodologies. The issue highlights the latest developments across multiple subdisciplines of theoretical computer science, with particular emphasis on emerging areas such as quantum computing, AI-driven systems, and scalable distributed algorithms.