Glycine in the interstellar medium revisited: Resolving conformational complexity kinetically
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: Numerous attempts to detect glycine, a simple amino acid and a key building block of proteins in all life on Earth, in the interstellar medium have so far been unsuccessful in spite of the fact that it is present in meteorites, comets and asteroids. Glycine is conformationally diverse, existing in eight different forms, and the aim is to show that interconversions, in the dark, are governed by quantum mechanical tunnelling at temperatures from 300 K down to 10 K and to compute the rate at which these changes occur resulting in recommendations to maximise a successful outcome.
Source: arXiv (Cornell University)
Authors: Wurmel, Judith, Simmie, John M.
Language: English
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7213429840