The origin of chiral discrimination: supersonic molecular beam experiments and molecular dynamics simulations of collisional mechanisms

The target of the present paper is the study of chirality effects in molecular dynamics from both a theoretical and an experimental point of view under the hypothesis of a molecular dynamics mechanism as the origin of chiral discrimination. This is a fundamental problem per se, and of possible relevance for the problem of the intriguing homochirality in Nature, so far lacking satisfactory explanations. We outline the steps that have been taken so far toward this direction, motivated by various experimental studies of supersonic molecular beams carried out in this laboratory, such as the detection of aligned oxygen in gaseous streams and further evidence on nitrogen, benzene and various hydrocarbons, showing the insurgence of molecular orientation in the dynamics of molecules in flows and in molecular collisions. Chiral effects are theoretically demonstrated to show up in the differential scattering of oriented molecules, also when impinging on surfaces. Focus on possible mechanisms for chiral bio-stereochemistry of oriented reactants may be of pre-biotical interest, for example when flowing in atmospheres of rotating bodies, specifically the planet Earth, as well as in vortex motions of celestial objects. Molecular dynamics simulations and experimental verifications of the hypothesis are reviewed and objectives of future research activity proposed.