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

候选生命起源物种的太赫兹光谱：探索柔性分子的构象能量景观和星际分子复杂性的极限

• 批准号: 0415745
• 负责人: Geoffrey Blake
• 金额: $ 45万
• 依托单位: California Institute of Technology
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2004
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2004-08-01 至 2008-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0415745&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: THz; Spectroscopy; Candidate; Prebiotic; Species

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.

在该项目中，由化学系实验物理化学项目和天文科学系银河天文学项目资助，加州理工学院的Geoffrey Blake教授将开展益生元太赫兹（THz）光谱研究项目。种类，包括 3C 糖、氨基酸和二肽。 具体目标分子是甘油醛、1,3-二羟基-2-丙酮、甘氨酸 (gly) 和丙氨酸 (ala)。 还需要研究的是结构相关的 3C 化合物碳酸二甲酯。 这些研究构成了随后研究最简单的二肽（即gly-gly、gly-ala、ala-gly 和ala-ala）的基础。 实验室研究的结果将用于对这些物种进行天文搜索。 量子化学计算的结果将用于缩小太赫兹搜索窗口，并构建分子内力场的精确模型。 现有太赫兹光谱仪的灵敏度将得到提高，以便能够观察该计划中要研究的最复杂物种的光谱特征。 这项研究将在研究生和本科生的协助下进行，其中包括女性和代表性不足的少数族裔成员。 除了这些活动之外，由 Blake 教授领导的小组还积极参与加州理工学院的 SEED 和 CAPSIK-12 教育计划，并正在为各个年级开发新的光谱学和天文学教学模块。