{"record":{"author":{"account_ref":null,"orcid":null},"builds_on":[],"content_schema":"pubphys.content.revision/1","content_sha256":"191ac1a2119c92df6b94f78a6fcf3568f5ba5f75017a579ce93e8d5edc4bd4cc","created":"2026-10-03T07:17:55Z","files":[],"origin":{"assisted_by":[],"kind":"seed"},"parents":["5475cf5dc5b1a72283d26dc95dc6e00d7ea4e00096a7c6492e409a1816eeb011"],"salt":"30c29ed650a34717635d69481723e2fd9a27d7cf8f6f3ca528ad93ac822121b2","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":"1","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 H2 molecule $\\zeta_2 \\sim 3.5e-16\\,\\mathrm{s}^{-1}$ 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":null,"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":"053938143b301dc6b1d81522aef24ce54269bd5a5c046d77683dda38966086a5"},"attested":{"attestation":{"batch":null,"client_id":null,"id_token_sha256":null,"kind":"platform"},"record_hash":"5d5f190458fa42c004e971eb066f875c0f576c676a7bac59a94c9ada255b9e8b","schema":"pubphys.attested/1"},"envelope":{"attested_hash":"82eea0e8c5b712ba702cf03d2bcdb9269dd1d23ba9afaac03bfb1d0d87a629db","platform_signature":{"key_id":"c6afc19b31429869751f06879c75cd64ea92654423d15b44be775bf1310a60da","sig":"T7mF9wD6KATiRJW-9GnW9Dk40H-13StCIyQKWhmtPGLu6xZaQai8cRvUfoUpyU_8iyhfVlF542EiUhJWDyxGDQ"},"schema":"pubphys.envelope/1"},"record_hash":"5d5f190458fa42c004e971eb066f875c0f576c676a7bac59a94c9ada255b9e8b","leaf_index":567}