10Heavy noble gases (Ne, Ar, Xe) can record long-lasting heterogeneities in the mantle 11 because of the production of isotopes from extant ( 238 U, 40

The composition of the early Solar System can be inferred from meteorites. Many elements heavier than iron were formed by the rapid neutron capture process (r-process), but the astrophysical sources where this occurred remain poorly understood. We demonstrate that the near-identical half-lives (≃15.6 million years) of the radioactive r-process nuclei iodine-129 and curium-247 preserve their ratio, irrespective of the time between production and incorporation into the Solar System. We constrain the last r-process source by comparing the measured meteoritic ratio 129I/247Cm = 438 ± 184 with nucleosynthesis calculations based on neutron star merger and magneto-rotational supernova simulations. Moderately neutron-rich conditions, often found in merger disk ejecta simulations, are most consistent with the meteoritic value. Uncertain nuclear physics data limit our confidence in this conclusion.

We compare literature data for the isotopic ratios of Zr, Sr, and Ba from analysis of single meteoritic stardust silicon carbide (SiC) grains to new predictions for the slow neutron-capture process (the s process) in metal-rich asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars. The models have initial metallicities Z = 0.014 (solar) and Z = 0.03 (twice-solar) and initial masses 2 -4.5 M , selected such as the condition C/O>1 for the formation of SiC is achieved. Because of the higher Fe abundance, the twice-solar metallicity models result in a lower number of total free neutrons released by the 13 C(α,n) 16 O neutron source. Furthermore, the highest-mass (4 -4.5 M ) AGB stars of twice-solar metallicity present a milder activation of the 22 Ne(α,n) 25 Mg neutron source than their solar metallicity counterparts, due to cooler temperatures resulting from the effect of higher opacities. They also have a lower amount of the 13 C neutron source than the lower-mass models, following their smaller He-rich region. The combination of these different effects allows our AGB models of twice-solar metallicity to provide a match to the SiC data without the need to consider large variations in the features of the 13 C neutron source nor neutron-capture processes different from the s process. This raises the question if the AGB parent stars of meteoritic SiC * Maria Lugaro grains were in fact on average of twice-solar metallicity. The heavier-than-solar Si and Ti isotopic ratios in the same grains are in qualitative agreement with an origin in stars of super-solar metallicity because of the chemical evolution of the Galaxy. Further, the SiC dust mass ejected from C-rich AGB stars is predicted to significantly increase with increasing the metallicity.