Abstract:

To test the hypothesis that amino acids, the molecular precursors of life, could have reached primitive Earth embedded in icy grains of space transported by comets or asteroids, we are combining a DFT study of the decarboxylation and deamination of glycine—neutral, singly, and doubly ionized—with a RT-TDDFT study of the same neutral and charged glycine interacting with ionizing radiation. In all cases, the molecules are surrounded by water molecules, mimicking the icy environment. The outcomes of this study will be presented.