University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Discovery of the first interstellar chiral molecule: propylene oxide

Carroll, Brandon

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2018.pdf
740606.pptx

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/91420

Description

Title
Discovery of the first interstellar chiral molecule: propylene oxide
Author(s)
Carroll, Brandon
Contributor(s)
  • Blake, Geoffrey
  • Remijan, Anthony
  • Jewell, Philip
  • Finneran, Ian A.
  • Loomis, Ryan
  • McGuire, Brett A.
Issue Date
2016-06-22
Keyword(s)
Astronomy
Date of Ingest
2017-01-26T21:37:03Z
Abstract
Life on Earth relies on chiral molecules, that is, species not superimposable on their mirror images. This manifests itself as a reliance on a single molecular handedness, or homochirality that is characteristic of life and perhaps most readily apparent in the large enhancement in biological activity of particular amino acid and sugar enantiomers. Yet, the ancestral origin of biological homochirality remains a mystery. The non-racemic ratios in some organics isolated from primitive meteorites hint at a primordial chiral seed but even these samples have experienced substantial processing during planetary assembly, obscuring their complete histories. To determine the underlying origin of any enantiomeric excess, it is critical to understand the molecular gas from which these molecules originated. Here, we present the first extra-solar, astronomical detection of a chiral molecule, propylene oxide (CH$_3$CHCH$_2$O), in absorption toward the Galactic Center. With the detection of propylene oxide, we at last have a target for broad-ranging searches for the possible cosmic origin of the homochirality of life.
Publisher
International Symposium on Molecular Spectroscopy
Type of Resource
text
Genre of Resource
Conference Paper / Presentation
Language
En
Permalink
http://hdl.handle.net/2142/91420
Copyright and License Information
Copyright 2016 by the authors

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Abstracts & Presentations - 2016 International Symposium on Molecular Spectroscopy PRIMARY