All paths lead to hubs in the spectroscopic networks of water isotopologues H₂¹⁶O and H₂¹⁸O

Network theory has fundamentally transformed our comprehension of complex systems, catalyzing significant advances across various domains of science and technology. In spectroscopic networks, hubs are the quantum states involved in the largest number of transitions. Here, utilizing network paths probed via precision metrology, absolute energies have been deduced, with at least 10-digit accuracy, for almost 200 hubs in the experimental spectroscopic networks of H₂¹⁶O and H₂¹⁸O. These hubs, lying on the ground vibrational states of both species and the bending fundamental of H₂¹⁶O, are involved in tens of thousands of observed transitions. Relying on the same hubs and other states, benchmark-quality line lists have been assembled, which supersede and improve, by three orders of magnitude, the accuracy of the massive amount of data reported in hundreds of papers dealing with Doppler-limited spectroscopy. Due to the omnipresence of water, these ultraprecise line lists could be applied to calibrate high-resolution spectra and serve ongoing and upcoming space missions.