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

TL;DR

This paper reports the first astronomical detection of a chiral molecule, propylene oxide, in a cold molecular cloud near the Galactic Center, providing insights into the origins of molecular homochirality relevant to life's origins.

Contribution

It presents the first detection of a chiral molecule in space, specifically propylene oxide, in a star-forming region, linking molecular chirality to early solar system conditions.

Findings

Detection of propylene oxide in Sagittarius B2

Chiral molecule present in cold, extended molecular gas

Implications for the origin of biological homochirality

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.