{"record":{"author":{"account_ref":null,"orcid":null},"builds_on":[],"content_schema":"pubphys.content.revision/1","content_sha256":"cf73d9c9b91edd96dac93b20b67e49128930faca72c0cf0c2bb9b9215ca69bc5","created":"2026-10-03T07:17:55Z","files":[],"origin":{"assisted_by":[],"kind":"seed"},"parents":["5475cf5dc5b1a72283d26dc95dc6e00d7ea4e00096a7c6492e409a1816eeb011"],"salt":"c5f173da441140407a0eae63592af0cedffeb722d6f5fce26b5104c5eadeae0d","schema":"pubphys.record/2","site":"pubphys.com","target":null,"type":"revision"},"content":{"answer_type":"identification","assisted_by":[],"external_id":"astro.ism-astrochemistry.dib-carriers","kind":"well-posed","literature_status":"open","n":"1","parents":[],"plain":"Starlight crossing interstellar gas shows hundreds of absorption bands, called diffuse interstellar bands, whose source is unknown. After a century, only one molecule, the positively charged buckyball C60+, has been confirmed.","posed_since":"","precise":"Of more than 500 known diffuse interstellar bands in the $4000\\ \\text{to}\\ 13000\\ \\mathrm{Angstrom}$ range, only the C60+ bands (strongest near $9577\\ \\text{and}\\ 9632\\ \\mathrm{Angstrom}$, weaker ones near $9365\\ \\text{and}\\ 9428\\ \\mathrm{Angstrom}$) are securely assigned, by cold gas-phase laboratory spectroscopy. Identify the carriers of the remaining bands, requiring a laboratory gas-phase spectrum matching wavelengths, widths and relative strengths at interstellar temperatures.","problem_ref":null,"references":"","settled_by":"Cold gas-phase laboratory spectra of candidate molecules matching the strongest unassigned bands (5780, 5797, 6284 Angstrom) in position and profile.","status_note":"Cyclic C4+ was proposed in 2025 for the 5039 Angstrom band (Krasnokutski et al., ApJ, 2025) and remains unconfirmed.","title":"Which molecules cause the diffuse interstellar bands?","topic_ref":"053938143b301dc6b1d81522aef24ce54269bd5a5c046d77683dda38966086a5"},"attested":{"attestation":{"batch":null,"client_id":null,"id_token_sha256":null,"kind":"platform"},"record_hash":"1979afbb27937c44735a1d77a8fd1ecd493bb545f58bbd8c457f40d2053826a9","schema":"pubphys.attested/1"},"envelope":{"attested_hash":"433ddac75b6496123a57b7029aba6d7b6a13d4c89e81fd415e40172837945386","platform_signature":{"key_id":"c6afc19b31429869751f06879c75cd64ea92654423d15b44be775bf1310a60da","sig":"k4EkWa4qs8_HC7NTs9f91XthHVr22IBNPnFJQDJh-HisXrwAtTsNUM3d9mV1H6EPwH4nUEpJwsUyQ8zuOWiqAA"},"schema":"pubphys.envelope/1"},"record_hash":"1979afbb27937c44735a1d77a8fd1ecd493bb545f58bbd8c457f40d2053826a9","leaf_index":568}