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I am just finishing up some work in number theory, but none of my professors could tell me where I should submit my work to (I am an undergrad). Any suggestions?

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    $\begingroup$ I'm not in number theory, but this is an impossible question for anyone to answer without seeing the paper itself. Do any of your professors know someone more knowledgeable whom you could consult? $\endgroup$
    – Deane Yang
    Oct 23, 2011 at 18:41
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    $\begingroup$ A short answer is to try to find some papers similar to yours (in topic, style, importance, etc.) and submit your paper to one of the journals they appeared in. It's hard to say more without knowing more about exactly what your research consists of, but I'm not sure mathoverflow is the right place for a detailed discussion. $\endgroup$
    – Henry Cohn
    Oct 23, 2011 at 18:44
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    $\begingroup$ See numbertheory.org/ntw/N6.html and numbertheory.org/ntw/N7.html $\endgroup$
    – Stopple
    Oct 23, 2011 at 19:19
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    $\begingroup$ If you are all of bold, polite, and respectful, you can also try the following approach. (This should supplement Deane Yang's suggestion, NOT replace it.) Collect a list of email addresses to which you send a form letter. The form letter includes a polite salutation, makes the request of the name of someone to review the result, includes a short summary of the result and methods used, provides a link to the writeup for those who want more as well as your contact info, ... (Continued) Gerhard "Ask Me About System Design" Paseman, 2011.10.23 $\endgroup$ Oct 23, 2011 at 20:43
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    $\begingroup$ ... states your intention of finding a journal to publish the result, and thanks the reader for their time. It should be very brief and clear. The list of recipients should include only those people that have a good shot of answering the request, primarily associate editors of journals or people who have written on or near the topic you have researched. If these people get that you respect their time and input, some will engage with you, even if the answer is that your work is already well known. Gerhard "Ask Me About System Design" Paseman, 2011.10.23 $\endgroup$ Oct 23, 2011 at 20:51

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I would suggest to start with googling for something like "journals specializing in number theory" to compile a list of some ~15 major number-theoretic journals. The next step is to cross out too ambitious journals, too "lightweight" journals, journals specializing in an area alien to yours etc; your professors should be able to help you with this. When you are left with some half-a-dozen of options, think of the papers you refer to: were they were published? Remember, that you do not need to reduce your list to just one title: when you are left with some three journals or so, you can just pick one of them at random!

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