THz Spectroscopy of Candidate Prebiotic Species: Exploring the Conformational Energy Landscape of Flexible Molecules and the Limits of Interstellar Molecular Complexity

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In this project, funded by the Experimental Physical Chemistry Program of the Chemistry Division and the Galactic Astronomy Program of the Division of Astronomical Sciences, Prof. Geoffrey Blake of the California Institute of Technology will conduct a research program in Terahertz (THz) spectroscopy of prebiotic species, including 3C sugars, amino acids, and dipeptides. Specific target molecules are glyceraldehyde, 1,3-dihydroxy-2-propanone, glycine (gly), and alanine (ala). Also to be investigated is the structurally related 3C compound dimethylcarbonate. These investigations form the basis for subsequent studies of the simplest dipeptides namely gly-gly, gly-ala, ala-gly, and ala-ala. The results of the laboratory studies will be used to undertake astronomical searches for these species. The results of quantum chemical calculations will be used to narrow down the THz search windows and also to construct accurate models of intramolecular force fields. The sensitivity of the available THz spectrometers will be improved to enable the observation the spectral signatures of the most complex species to be studied in the program. This research will be conducted with the assistance of graduate and undergraduate students, including women and members of underrepresented minorities. In addition to these activities, the group headed by Prof. Blake is strongly involved in the Caltech SEED and CAPSIK-12 educational programs, and is developing new teaching modules in spectroscopy and astronomy for a variety of grade levels.