Supernova antineutrino interactions cause chiral symmetry breaking and possibly homochiral biomaterials for life

Origin of Terrestrial Bioorganic Homochirality and Symmetry Breaking in the Universe

The origin of terrestrial bioorganic homochirality is one of the most important and unresolved problems in the study of chemical evolution prior to the origin of terrestrial life. One hypothesis advocated in the context of astrobiology is that polarized quantum radiation in space, such as circularly polarized photons or spin-polarized leptons, induced asymmetric chemical and physical conditions in the primitive interstellar media (the cosmic scenario). Another advocated hypothesis in the context of symmetry breaking in the universe is that the bioorganic asymmetry is intrinsically derived from the chiral asymmetric properties of elementary particles, that is, parity violation in the weak interaction (the intrinsic scenario). In this paper, the features of these two scenarios are discussed and approaches to validate them are reviewed.

Homochirality: A Perspective from Fundamental Physics

In this brief review, possible mechanisms which could lead to complete biological homochirality are discussed from the viewpoint of fundamental physics. In particular, the role played by electroweak parity violation, including neutrino-induced homochirality, and contributions from the gravitational interaction, will be emphasized.

Biological Homochirality on the Earth, or in the Universe? A Selective Review

The discovery of meteoritic alpha-amino acids with significant enantiomeric excesses of the L-form has suggested that some cosmic factors could serve as the initial source for chiral imbalance of organic compounds delivered to the early Earth. The paper reviews major hypothesis considering the influence of chiral irradiation and chiral combinations of physical fields on the possible ways asymmetric synthesis and transformations of organics could take place within the solar system. They could result in a small enantiomeric imbalance of some groups of compounds. More attention is paid to the hypothesis on parity violation of weak interaction that was supposed to cause homochirality of all primary particles and a more significant homochirality of compounds directly synthesized from the latter in a plasma reactor. The first experiment with material synthesized in a plasma torch resulting from a super-high-velocity impact showed formation of alanine with the excess of L-form between 7 and 25%. The supposed conclusion is that L-amino acids could serve as a starting homochiral biomolecular pool for life to emerge all over the Universe.

Selection of Amino Acid Chirality via Neutrino Interactions with 14N in Crossed Electric and Magnetic Fields

Previous work has suggested that the chirality of the amino acids could be established in the magnetic field of a nascent neutron star from a core-collapse supernova or massive collapsar. The magnetic field would orient the 14N nuclei, and the alignment of its nuclear spin with respect to those of the electron antineutrinos emitted from the collapsing star would determine the probability of destruction of the 14N nuclei by interactions with the antineutrinos. Subsequent work estimated the bulk polarization of the 14N nuclei in large rotating meteoroids in such an environment. The present work adds a crucial piece of this model by describing the details by which the selective 14N nuclear destruction would produce molecular chiral selectivity. The effects of the neutrino-induced interactions on the 14N nuclei bound in amino acids polarized in strong magnetic fields are studied. It is shown that electric fields in the reference frame of the nuclei modify the magnetic field at the nucleus, creating nuclear magnetizations that are asymmetric in chirality. The antineutrino cross sections depend on this magnetization, creating a selective destructive effect. The environmental conditions and sites in which such a selection mechanism could occur are discussed. Selective destruction of D-enantiomers results in enantiomeric excesses which may be sufficient to drive subsequent autocatalysis necessary to produce the few-percent enantiomeric excesses found in meteorites and subsequent homochirality. Molecular quantum chemical calculations were performed for alanine, and the chirality-dependent effects studied were included. A preference for left-handed molecules was found, and enantiomeric excesses as high as 0.02% were estimated for molecules in the electromagnetic conditions expected from a core-collapse supernova. Key Words: Amino acids-Supernovae-Antineutrinos-Enantiomeric excess-Chirality. Astrobiology 18, 190-206.

Supernovae, neutrinos and the chirality of amino acids

A mechanism for creating an enantioenrichment in the amino acids, the building blocks of the proteins, that involves global selection of one handedness by interactions between the amino acids and neutrinos from core-collapse supernovae is defined. The chiral selection involves the dependence of the interaction cross sections on the orientations of the spins of the neutrinos and the (14)N nuclei in the amino acids, or in precursor molecules, which in turn couple to the molecular chirality. It also requires an asymmetric distribution of neutrinos emitted from the supernova. The subsequent chemical evolution and galactic mixing would ultimately populate the Galaxy with the selected species. The resulting amino acids could either be the source thereof on Earth, or could have triggered the chirality that was ultimately achieved for Earth's proteinaceous amino acids.

Supernovae and the chirality of the amino acids

A mechanism for creating amino acid enantiomerism that always selects the same large-scale 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, that couples to the chirality of the molecules; (2) the neutrinos emitted from the supernova, together with the magnetic field from the nascent neutron star or black hole formed from the supernova, which selectively destroy one orientation of the 14N and thus select 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 that mixes the selected molecules throughout the Galaxy.

A photochemical mechanism for homochirogenesis

Theoretical analysis of one-step and multiple-step photoreactions initiated with circularly polarized light shows that the enantiomeric excess of a chiral reactant approaches +/- 1 as the amount of unreacted reactant approaches 0. The final product never has a large enantiomeric excess at any stage of its formation and slowly decreases to 0 at the completion of the reaction. For multiple-step reactions the behavior of the intermediate photoproducts is much more interesting. During certain stages of the overall reaction both the size of the enantiomer excess and the amount of a given intermediate photoproduct are large. Furthermore, the sign of the enantiomeric excess of an intermediate may change during the course of the reaction. Multiple-step photoreactions initiated with circularly polarized light may be a method by which the exogenous and endogenous synthesis of optically active molecules occurred in the prebiotic universe.

Chirality as an inherent general property of matter

A statement has been formulated that chirality is an indispensable inherent property of all material objects, at one level of organization of matter or another. The translation of chirality from one level of material objects to another deserves our attention. The parity violation of weak interactions can be discussed in terms of the homochirality of the pool of fundamental particles, as it translates into optical activity of metal vapors. Individual photons and energy quanta are considered to be chiral entities, too, since they can be separated into beams of circularly polarized radiation. The chiral structure of the universe has been proposed and a method of determining the orientation of the axis of rotation of the universe suggested.

The role of supernova neutrinos on molecular homochirality

Electroweak parity violating interaction between supernova (SN) neutrinos and electrons of a simple chiral molecule is studied related to the origin of molecular homochirality. Appearance of supernova remnants inside molecular clouds favours the interaction of SN-neutrinos with interstellar molecules, leading to a energetic difference between the two enantiomers of the order of 10(-5) eV. This energetic difference is closer to the thermic energy of the interstellar medium, so molecular homochirality could be enhanced in molecular clouds containing supernova remnants inside it due to neutrino interaction.