Stellar Matrix: The Diol Theory of the Origin of Life
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Abstract
The origin of life has long been attributed to stochastic processes in a terrestrial "primordial soup," a paradigm increasingly challenged by thermodynamic and statistical constraints. This article proposes the Diol Theory, a deterministic framework positioning diols (organic molecules with two hydroxyl groups) as the central molecular architects of abiogenesis. Synthesized in interstellar icy mantles under stellar ultraviolet irradiation, diols are delivered to early Earth via comets and carbonaceous asteroids. Upon arrival, they act as catalytic initiators of the autocatalytic formose reaction, while planetary minerals such as wollastonite and hydroxyapatite function as chiral filters, selectively stabilizing D-ribose and establishing biological homochirality. Concurrently, diols facilitate protomembrane assembly and serve as structural templates whose bilateral symmetry scales across all levels of biological organization. Supported by recent astrochemical detections (JWST, 2025–2026), meteoritic isotopic analyses, and the geometric congruence of biological antifreeze proteins with diol spacing, the theory shifts the astrobiological paradigm from "Follow the water" to "Follow the diol". It predicts that complex, bilaterally symmetric life can only emerge around F, G, and K-type stars, where stellar spectra and polarized radiation optimize prebiotic photochemistry. Ultimately, the Diol Theory reframes life not as a terrestrial accident, but as an inevitable, mathematically predictable outcome of stellar-driven matter organization.