The SKA as a prebiotic molecule detector

TL;DR

The paper discusses how the Square Kilometer Array (SKA) can be used to detect complex prebiotic molecules like sugars in space, supporting theories of life's origins from extraterrestrial sources.

Contribution

It demonstrates the potential of SKA to detect simple sugars in space with moderate observation time, advancing prebiotic molecule detection capabilities.

Findings

SKA can detect sugars with three and four carbon atoms in space.

Detection of prebiotic molecules supports extraterrestrial origin theories.

SKA's sensitivity surpasses previous instruments for complex molecule detection.

Abstract

One of the theories for the origin of life proposes that a significant fraction of prebiotic material could have arrived to Earth from outer space between 4.1 and 3.8 billion years ago. This suggests that those prebiotic compounds could have originated in interstellar space, to be later on incorporated to small Solar-system bodies and planetesimals. The recent discovery of prebiotic molecules such as hydroxylamine and ethanolamine in the interstellar medium, strongly supports this hypothesis. However, some species such as sugars, key for the synthesis of ribonucleotides and for metabolic processes, remain to be discovered in space. The unmatched sensitivity of the Square Kilometer Array (SKA) at centimeter wavelengths will be able to detect even more complex and heavier prebiotic molecules than existing instrumentation. In this contribution, we illustrate the potential of the SKA to detect simple sugars with three and four carbon atoms, using a moderate investment of observing time.