Fresh approaches to using solar isotopic abundances to determine heavy element origins

For more than 60 years the solar isotopic abundances have been providing clues to the astrophysical origins of elements. Although the era of multi-messenger astronomy presents new paths to understanding single events, the solar abundances still serve as the key informant of the contributions of a given site to the enrichment of the Solar System. We will discuss recent methods to evaluate both the last and dominant source of heavy r-process elements. To evaluate the dominant source in a modern way, statistical methods offer a fresh and innovative approach. We apply such techniques to the r-process rare-earth abundance peak due to its high sensitivity to the nuclear properties of lanthanides as well as the astrophysical environment in which heavy element synthesis occurs. We will present the most recent results which derive the masses capable of forming the rare-earth peak in accretion disk winds as well as neutron star merger dynamical ejecta. When considering the last source of r-process enrichment, traces of radioactive isotopes in meteorites are a promising avenue. We will present results which demonstrate the diagnostic power of the abundance ratio of two particularly special radioactive isotopes and compare their ratio in meteorites to predicted nucleosynthetic abundances in neutron star mergers and rare supernovae. We will also describe how the latest precision measurements and upcoming experiments are in a prime position to illuminate key nuclear properties which affect these studies.