关键词: 宇称破缺, 分子手性, 中子衍射, D-和L-丙氨酸

Abstract: The role of chirality determines the origin of life that almost all amino acids utilized in living systems are of the L-type. Starting from Z0 interactions, Salam speculated on an explanation in terms of quantum mechanical cooperative and condensation phenomena where the electron-nucleon system has the same status as Cooper-pairing, which could give rise to second-order phase transitions(including D to L transformations) below a critical temperature Tc(～250 K). Neutron diffraction of single crystal D- and L-alanine was performed to look for the characteristic structural feature above and below the Tc (295 K and 60 K) and the possibility of D- to L-type transformation. Data analysis of the temperature effect on the crystal lattice together with the NH3＋ torsional motion, parity-violating energy difference (ΔEPV) as a function of dihedral angle (ω), the CO2(θ) and NH3(ψ)torsion angles and the contribution of Cα－H…O=C hydrogen bond is discussed. Observation of the behavior of weak hydrogen bonding during the cooling process threw a light on the distinction between D- and L-alanine, which could be attributed to the parity-violating weak interactions. Measurements of the neutron crystal-structure of D-alanine rule out the possibility of configuration transition to L-alanine, which means that Salam phase transition is not a conventional structure transition.

Key words: Parity violation, Molecular chirality, Neutron diffraction, D- and L-alanine