A non-energetic mechanism for glycine formation in the interstellar medium

Abstract

The detection of the amino acid glycine and its amine precursor methylamine on the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko by the Rosetta mission provides strong evidence for a cosmic origin of prebiotics on Earth. How and when such complex organic molecules form along the process of star- and planet-formation remains debated. We report the first laboratory detection of glycine formed in the solid phase through atom and radical-radical addition surface reactions under cold dense interstellar cloud conditions. Our experiments, supported by astrochemical models, suggest that glycine forms without the need for energetic irradiation, such as UV photons and cosmic rays, in interstellar water-rich ices, where it remains preserved, in a much earlier star-formation stage than previously assumed. We also confirm that solid methylamine is an important side-reaction product. A prestellar formation of glycine on ice grains provides the basis for a complex and ubiquitous prebiotic chemistry in space enriching the chemical content of planet-forming material.

Preprint of the original submitted version

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• A pathway to peptides in space through the condensation of atomic carbon
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• Fitting infrared ice spectra with genetic modelling algorithms. Presenting the ENIIGMA fitting tool
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• Direct Determination of the Activation Energy for Diffusion of OH Radicals on Water Ice
• Infrared free-electron laser irradiation of carbon dioxide ice
• Energy transfer and restructuring in amorphous solid water upon consecutive irradiation
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• IRFEL Selective Irradiation of Amorphous Solid Water: from Dangling to Bulk Modes
• Neural-Network Assisted Study of Nitrogen Atom Dynamics on Amorphous Solid Water -- II. Diffusion
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