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arXiv · 1606.07483

Discovery of the Interstellar Chiral Molecule Propylene Oxide (CH$_3$CHCH$_2$O)

Brett A. McGuire·P. Brandon Carroll·Ryan A. Loomis·Ian A. Finneran·Philip R. Jewell·Anthony J. Remijan·Geoffrey A. Blake
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Abstract

Life on Earth relies on chiral molecules, that is, species not superimposable on their mirror images. This manifests itself in the selection of a single molecular handedness, or homochirality, across the biosphere. We present the astronomical detection of a chiral molecule, propylene oxide (CH$_3$CHCH$_2$O), in absorption toward the Galactic Center. Propylene oxide is detected in the gas phase in a cold, extended molecular shell around the embedded, massive protostellar clusters in the Sagittarius B2 star-forming region. This material is representative of the earliest stage of solar system evolution in which a chiral molecule has been found.

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Brett A. McGuire, P. Brandon Carroll, Ryan A. Loomis, Ian A. Finneran, Philip R. Jewell, Anthony J. Remijan, Geoffrey A. Blake. 2016-06-23. Discovery of the Interstellar Chiral Molecule Propylene Oxide (CH$_3$CHCH$_2$O). https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aae0328

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