Journal profile · Physics and Astronomy-Physics and Astronomy (miscellaneous)
Living Reviews in Relativity
ISSN 1433-8351 · Springer International Publishing · Germany · Founded 1998
Living Reviews in Relativity: CAS Zone 1 · Physics & Astronomy (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 64.18; diamond open access (no APC); no APC; median 229 days to acceptance (11 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: very hard; 10 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Living Reviews in Relativity is published by Springer International Publishing and is in Zone 1 of Physics & Astronomy in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Pulsars and Gravitational Waves Research, Cosmology and Gravitation Theories and Black Holes and Theoretical Physics, together about 50.4% of its articles. Its main subfields are Astronomy and Astrophysics. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Living Reviews in Relativity is a peer-reviewed, platinum* open-access journal, publishing reviews of research in all areas of relativity. Articles are solicited from leading authorities and are directed towards the scientific community at or above the graduate-student level. The articles in Living Reviews provide critical reviews of the current state of research in the fields they cover. Articles also offer annotated insights into the key literature and describe other available resources. Living Reviews is unique in maintaining a suite of high-quality reviews, which are kept up-to-date by the authors. This is the meaning of the word "living" in the journal's title. Living Reviews in Relativity has become a valuable tool for the scientific community and one of the first places a researcher looks for information about current work in relativity. Articles are placed at the level of a good plenary review talk at an international conference. Written by experts, reviews published in the journal cite, explain, and assess the most relevant, interesting, and important print and electronic resources in a given field. The articles evaluate existing work, place it in a meaningful context, and suggest areas where more work and new results are needed. Living Reviews in Relativity attracts readers from the entire relativity community. Graduate students can use the journal to start their initial literature surveys or to learn about fields peripheral to their own; researchers can use it to quickly find out about the most up-to-date results in fields in which they are not current, to track down bibliographic references that they have not recorded, or even to find areas in which their own skills can be applied in a new field; and lecturers can use it to find information and visual materials that can be used in presentations at all levels. Note: Please, submit your original research articles to our sister journal General Relativity and Gravitation.While the majority of articles in Living Reviews in Relativity is commissioned by our editors, we do welcome proposals for additional reviews. * Platinum (also known as sponsored or diamond) open access journals allow immediate access to the content of the journal without the payment of a subscription fee or licence. Authors pay no article publication charge and all the costs of publishing the journal are met by one or more sponsoring organizations.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Physics and Astronomy-Physics and Astronomy (miscellaneous)
Editor-in-chief Piotr ChruscielPublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United States 6, Germany 3, United Kingdom 2, India 1, France 1 (20 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Pulsars and Gravitational Waves ResearchPhysics and Astronomy18.6%
- Cosmology and Gravitation TheoriesPhysics and Astronomy18.2%
- Black Holes and Theoretical PhysicsPhysics and Astronomy13.6%
- Noncommutative and Quantum Gravity TheoriesPhysics and Astronomy6.8%
- Astrophysical Phenomena and ObservationsPhysics and Astronomy6.2%
- Gamma-ray bursts and supernovaePhysics and Astronomy5.4%
- Relativity and Gravitational TheoryPhysics and Astronomy5%
- Astronomy and Astrophysical ResearchPhysics and Astronomy2.7%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Physics & Astronomy Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Physics & Astronomy | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Physics, Particles & Fields | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: yes
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Physics & Astronomy Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Physics & Astronomy | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Physics, Particles & Fields | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Physics & Astronomy Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Physics & Astronomy | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Physics, Particles & Fields | Zone 1 |
Top journal: noReview journal: yes
Database indexing
SCIEScopusDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
INSPECCASzbMATHCurrent ContentsPublisher website
Other: Google Scholar, EBSCO, ProQuest, Dimensions, CNKI, Baidu, Astrophysics Data System, Naver, OCLC, Portico, CLOCKSS
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 64.18LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 64.6Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 52.1Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 80.6LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 14.23LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 12.62LetPub ·
- h-index
- 75LetPub ·
- h-index
- 114OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 188OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 32.74OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 2%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 100%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 9LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 670,800Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 196 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 2 | 2 | 11 |
| 2025 | 10 | 10 | 333 |
| 2024 | 7 | 7 | 278 |
| 2023 | 5 | 5 | 651 |
| 2022 | 6 | 6 | 984 |
| 2021 | 4 | 4 | 526 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with Crossref · to
229 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 191 days – 343 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 101 days (11 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 330 days
- Sample
- 11 articles with submission and acceptance dates (13 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 20 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- Very hardLetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 11 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 20 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Single anonymous peer reviewDOAJ
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Diamond open access (no APC)DOAJ
Every article is open access and authors pay no article processing charge.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | No APC | No | CC BY | |
| OpenAlex | USD 0 | — | — | |
| LetPub | No APC | No | — | |
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
What to prepare4 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- 150–250 words
- Keywords
- ≥ 4
- Reference style
- Author–date
- Suggested reviewers
- Optional
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, Data availability, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Plagiarism
- AI use Generative AI Images
LLMs do not satisfy authorship criteria; use must be documented Model summary
Please check Springer’s policy on generative AI images and make sure your work adheres to the principles described therein. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Authorship principles
These guidelines describe authorship principles and good authorship practices to which prospective authors should adhere to. Authorship clarified The Journal and Publisher assume all authors agreed with the content and that all gave explicit consent to submit and that they obtained consent from the responsible authorities at the institute/organization where the work has been carried out, before th…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Disclosures and declarations
Competing interests disclosure required Model summary
All authors are requested to include information regarding sources of funding, financial or non-financial interests, study-specific approval by the appropriate ethics committee for research involving humans and/or animals, informed consent if the research involved human participants, and a statement on welfare of animals if the research involved animals (as appropriate). The decision whether such …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Data availability statements
Data availability statement required for all original research Model summary
All original research must include a data availability statement. This statement should explain how to access data supporting the results and analysis in the article, including links/citations to publicly archived datasets analysed or generated during the study. Please see our full policy here. If it is not possible to share research data publicly, for instance when individual privacy could be com…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Copyright
Articles in Springer Nature open access journals do not require transfer of copyright as the copyright remains with the author. Details of the OA licences offered to authors can be found on the individual journal website, in the journal's How to publish with us guide. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access publishing
Copyright remains with author (open access) Model summary
To find out more about publishing your work Open Access in Living Reviews in Relativity, including information on fees, funding and licences, visit our Open access publishing page. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
Reviewer suggestions/exclusions allowed at submission Model summary
Authors are welcome to suggest suitable reviewers and/or request the exclusion of certain individuals when they submit their manuscripts.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Plagiarism
Plagiarism screening software may be used Model summary
the journal may use software to screen for plagiarism
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Springer International Publishing
- Country or region
- Germany
- Language
- English
- Founded
- 1998
- ISSN
- 1433-8351
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗DOAJ
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- Author guidelines ↗DOAJ
- Aims & Scope ↗DOAJ
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗DOAJ
- Editorial board ↗DOAJ
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Living Reviews in Relativity
What CAS zone is Living Reviews in Relativity in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Living Reviews in Relativity is in Zone 1 of Physics & Astronomy, and in Zone 1 of the minor category Physics, Particles & Fields; it is a Top journal. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 1 of Physics & Astronomy. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Living Reviews in Relativity?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 64.18; CiteScore 80.6, h-index 114.
How long does peer review take at Living Reviews in Relativity?
Based on the dates recorded on 11 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 229 days (interquartile range 191–343 days); authors report an average review time of about 20 weeks; the community-reported acceptance is “Very hard”. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What are the manuscript requirements of Living Reviews in Relativity?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: 150–250 words; Keywords: ≥ 4; Reference style: Author–date; Suggested reviewers: Optional. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of Living Reviews in Relativity based?
Of the 20 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (6), Germany (3) and United Kingdom (2). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Living Reviews in Relativity?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Living Reviews in Relativity is indexed in SCIE, Scopus and DOAJ. The journal's website also lists INSPEC, CAS, zbMATH and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Living Reviews in Relativity open access, and what is the APC?
Living Reviews in Relativity is a diamond open-access journal (no APC). It charges no article processing charge.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, Publisher website, DOAJ; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-26). Last updated: .