Supernovae and the Chirality of the Amino Acids

Abstract

A mechanism for creating amino acid enantiomerism that always selects the same global chirality is identified, and subsequent chemical replication and galactic mixing that would populate the galaxy with the predominant species is described. This involves: (1) the spin of the 14N in the amino acids, or in precursor molecules from which amino acids might be formed, coupling to the chirality of the molecules; 2) the neutrinos emitted from the supernova, together with magnetic field from the nascent neutron star or black hole formed from the supernova selectively destroying one orientation of the 14N, and thus selecting the chirality associated with the other 14N orientation; (3) chemical evolution, by which the molecules replicate and evolve to more complex forms of a single chirality on a relatively short timescale; and (4) galactic mixing on a longer timescale mixing the selected molecules throughout the galaxy.