{"record":{"author":{"account_ref":null,"orcid":null},"builds_on":[],"content_schema":"pubphys.content.revision/1","content_sha256":"54f41c57127dad88094402088c44f9abb1630ed9af5e7d9c587cada83e2687b7","created":"2026-10-15T23:43:22Z","files":[],"origin":{"assisted_by":[],"kind":"seed"},"parents":["5d5f190458fa42c004e971eb066f875c0f576c676a7bac59a94c9ada255b9e8b","ce59fb6cd812fc05906d0c60a71c75ea22bc686bcf38e7c3ef7010834d98ee7b"],"salt":"7c675525b958b4ced1fe04f8847a4a64f44fdd47f670d104d982acdb59db2567","schema":"pubphys.record/2","site":"pubphys.com","target":null,"type":"revision"},"content":{"answer_type":"mechanism","assisted_by":[],"external_id":"astro.ism-astrochemistry.cr-ionization-rate","kind":"phenomenon","literature_status":"open","n":"2","parents":[],"plain":"Molecules such as H3+ show that diffuse interstellar clouds are ionized about ten times faster than the cosmic rays measured near the Sun can explain. Either unseen low-energy cosmic rays exist or the chemistry is misunderstood.","posed_since":"","precise":"H3+ absorption gives a mean primary ionization rate per $\\mathrm{H_2}$ molecule $\\zeta_2 \\sim 3.5 \\times 10^{-16}\\,\\mathrm{s}^{-1}$ in diffuse molecular clouds (Indriolo and McCall 2012), more than 10 times the rate implied by the local interstellar cosmic-ray spectrum measured by Voyager 1. Determine the cause: a spatially variable low-energy (1 to 100 MeV) cosmic-ray population, nearby sources, or errors in the H3+ chemistry.","problem_ref":"5d5f190458fa42c004e971eb066f875c0f576c676a7bac59a94c9ada255b9e8b","references":"","settled_by":"Ionization rates along many sightlines with distances, compared with propagation models of low-energy cosmic rays from identified sources.","status_note":"","title":"Why is the cosmic-ray ionization rate in diffuse clouds so high?","topic_ref":null},"attested":{"attestation":{"batch":null,"client_id":null,"id_token_sha256":null,"kind":"platform"},"record_hash":"5a2578f035f70954e128389f0da8a44718e3493b57d56b3d26df2b1689a36b49","schema":"pubphys.attested/1"},"envelope":{"attested_hash":"08398ecdc96c9f542d57910a54e820a6ec792cc69e55472ce326b5848efdf5f8","platform_signature":{"key_id":"c6afc19b31429869751f06879c75cd64ea92654423d15b44be775bf1310a60da","sig":"_uSIUtObgOApmClSLlypWq0YZIh6tmIt7MObM8GdM0XE30xYaGaoxkBp3H7vTuFoAqgBqOSZ7pwQHMxP95oPCg"},"schema":"pubphys.envelope/1"},"record_hash":"5a2578f035f70954e128389f0da8a44718e3493b57d56b3d26df2b1689a36b49","leaf_index":2386}