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 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.

Special Issue on SSS 2025
Submission Date: 2026-08-28

The special issue contains a selection of papers presented in the 27th International Symposium on Self-stabilization, Safety, and Security of Distributed Systems (SSS) held on October 9-11, 2025, in Kathmandu, Nepal. SSS is an international forum for researchers and practitioners in the design and development of distributed systems with a focus on systems that can provide guarantees on their structure, performance, and/or security in the face of an adverse operational environment. The symposium focuses on original contributions on both fundamental research and practical applications.

Guest editors:

Gokarna Sharma, PhD,
Associate Professor in the Department of Compute Science, Kent State University, Kent, OH, USA.

Sébastien Tixeuil, PhD,
Professor of Computer Science at Sorbonne University, France.

Special issue information:

The intention of the SI is to publish the selected extended papers appeared in the 27th International Symposium on self-stabilization, safety, and security of distributed systems (SSS 2025). The symposium focuses on original contributions on both fundamental research and practical applications concerning topics in the three symposium tracks: (Track A) Stabilization and Locality in Distributed Computing, (Track B) Time, Safety, and Security in Distributed Computing, and (Track C) Moving and Computing. 

Since SSS publishes the original research work, the SI will contribute to advancing the state of the art in distributed computing research on various aspects. The SI is also of interest to Theoretical Computer Science (TCS) community as design and development of distributed systems with provable guarantees has widely been published in TCS and is a journal of significant interest to the SSS research community. Previous editions of SSS also had SI published in TCS. We are excited to continue this tradition. We will select the papers that received best reviews in SSS 2025. We plan to have around 10-12 papers to be published in the SI after careful reviews in the standard of TCS.

Manuscript submission information:

Authors should submit their manuscripts to the Theoretical Computer Science Editorial System (EM) at Submission site for Theoretical Computer Science, and select " VSI:SSS 2025” when they reach the “Article Type” step in the submission process.

General information for submitting papers to TCS can be found at Guide for Authors - Theoretical Computer Science.

Final Manuscript Submission Deadline: 28th August 2026

Keywords:

Distributed algorithms, Distributed Systems, Safety, Self-stabilization, Moving and computing