Mathematics – Logic
Scientific paper
Sep 2008
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2008dps....40.4902k&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #40, #49.02; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 40, p.485
Mathematics
Logic
Scientific paper
Circular polarization observations are of interest in astrobiological studies in planetary and cometary science because of the sensitivity they display to optical activity of the material that is usually related to the chirality (capability to exist in two mirror-symmetric forms) of complex organics. We are exploring the former in the laboratory, since conventional but precise astronomical polarization observations potentially offer a remote sensing capability to infer the presence of chirality, and hence the presence of biological, pre-biological or post-biological processes. A unique characteristic of life is the homochirality of biological molecules, i.e. predominance of one of the mirror form of the molecules. This characteristic may be manifested on a macroscopic scale through the optical activity of the chiral molecules. If such a signal can be detected remotely then large-scale exploration for biology-related processes may become feasible. We are quantifying the circular polarization signal produced by light scattered by astrobiologically relevant microorganisms (photosynthetic bacteria) and setting these in the context of macroscopic vegetation and abiotic minerals. The strong electronic transitions that define photosynthetic absorption bands are known to exhibit circular dichroism (different absorption coefficients for left and right circularly polarized light). We show that significant levels of circular polarization are present in the spectra of scattered light from the biological samples and that it is related to this molecular circular dichroism. Hence circular polarization can be a powerful biomarker which can be used remotely and which exploits a generic and unique characteristic of all biochemical life, namely its homochirality.
Kolokolova Ludmilla
Sparks William
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