Salam Hypothesis and The Role of Phase Transition In Amino Acids

Abstract

Salam hypothesis was elaborated in the First Trieste Conference on Chemical Evolution. We spent twelve years on a number of experiments (i.e. temperature-dependence of X-ray diffraction, neutron diffraction, atomic force microscopy of the surface structure, specific heat measurement, DC and AC magnetic susceptibilities, longitudinal ultrasonic attenuation and velocity, H-1 CRAMPS and C-13 CP/MAS solid state NMR studies, Raman spectra & natural optical rotation) to verify the second-order phase transition and the role in amino acids. The configuration transformation from D- to L-type was refuted by gas chromatographic analysis of Chirasil-Val capillary column of DL, D- and L-valine. This paper focuses attention on the role of phase transition in amino acid, which might play a bifurcation-type mechanism in a chirally-pure state instead of a direct configuration change from D- to L-amino acid below T-c.