Computer experiment for selection of optical isomer during prebiotic polymerization

Computer experiments simulating prebiotic polymerization were carried out using the Monte Carlo method. A high degree of single optical isomers from racemic monomers occurred by assuming a small asymmetry in their chemical natures, which was included to investigate an amplification of the asymmetry due to parity non-conservation. The asymmetry developed much more slowly than the growth of polymers, and the degree of asymmetry in the polymers increased with the degree of polymerization. Competition between the preferential selection and the disturbance by the statistical fluctuation are discussed.