A massive AGB star as source of short-lived nuclei in the early solar system

Abstract

The origin of short-lived radioactive nuclei at the time of the formation of the Sun is a much debated mystery in modern astronomy. We show that abundance predictions for massive AGB stars (roughly 6Mȯ) of solar metallicity can self-consistently match the abundances of 26Al, 41Ca, 60Fe, and 107Pd in the early Solar System, as derived from meteorite analysis. On the other hand our models do not produce 182Hf, thus confirming previous results. Recent measurements of excesses in 62Ni and 96Zr, correlated to 60Fe, can be accounted for by a massive AGB source. Moreover, these stars could be an important source of 87Rb, as recently observed, and thus induce the fluctuations in the Rb/Sr ratio observed in primitive chondritic materials. Finally, we discuss recent observations of decoupling between the presence of 26Al and 60Fe in differentiated planetesimals and their implications on candidate stellar sources. Show more