Chemists from Moscow State University have found out how cosmic rays and other forms of ionizing radiation could change the chemical structure of primitive organic molecules that arose in the Universe in the first moments of its existence, according to an article published in the journal Radiation Physics and Chemistry.
“The next step towards understanding the processes taking place in interstellar space will be the study of the chemistry of more complex ices containing other astrochemically important compounds. Ultimately, research of this kind can shed light on the processes of extraterrestrial evolution of matter, which preceded the emergence of life,”says Anastasia Volosatova, an employee of the Faculty of Chemistry, Moscow State University. Lomonosov.
In the first epochs of the life of the Universe, the stars consisted almost entirely of hydrogen and helium - all other elements, including carbon, nitrogen and oxygen, originated in their bowels and were then scattered across galaxies during supernova explosions. Subsequent generations of stars gave rise to an even greater mass of astronomical "metals" - elements heavier than hydrogen and helium.
The small amount of these "metals" in the early Universe makes many scientists believe that life did not arise then, including because the planets suitable for it were not formed due to an elementary lack of building materials. In addition, low concentrations of "metals" could interfere with the synthesis of the first complex organic molecules that make up life.
Volosatova and her colleagues discovered one of the possible ways of their formation, observing how the simplest organic molecule - acetonitrile, a compound of methane and nitrogen, changes under the influence of cosmic rays and radiation.
To carry out such experiments, Russian chemists created a special chamber in which "space" conditions were maintained - low temperatures, high levels of radiation and an almost complete vacuum. In these chambers, scientists injected pieces of various frozen noble gases - neon, xenon, argon or krypton, which contained inclusions of organic matter, and observed how their composition changed.
These experiments revealed an unusual effect - the chemical composition of ice, supposedly not involved in such reactions, strongly influenced how cosmic rays transformed acetonitrile. For example, a large number of isonitrile methane molecules, nitrogen compounds, carbon compounds and methane molecules appeared in neon ice, and large quantities of ketenemin (CH2CNH), whose molecules had already been found in space, appeared in neon ice.
Observations of more complex reactions planned by Russian researchers will show whether the environment and composition of the grains of ice and dust, in which "space" organics are usually found, will influence its evolution as strongly as it does the conversion of acetonitrile. The answer to this question, as scientists note, is extremely important for understanding how and in what environment the "building blocks of life" on Earth arose.
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