The Chiral Puzzle of Life

Speaker: Noémie Globus (KIPAC) In Person and zoom

Zoom Recording  Passcode: R52pH@zw

About 10,000 muons pass through our body every minute. Because they originate in a process that involves the parity-violating weak force, muons are spin-polarized. I will show how cosmic muons could have played a key role in the development of life on Earth by potentially influencing the mutation rate of early life forms and, as such, potentially assisting in the evolution of complex organisms as well as even shaping the “handedness” of biological molecules. Experimental investigation is underway and will be described. I will also discuss how spin-polarization is transmitted in cosmic showers in different environments and the implications for the search for life in other worlds.