IRAC image of L1448 Spitzer Images NIR Images from MDM Observatory

John Tobin              Hubble Fellow National Radio Astronomy Observatory 520 Edgemont Rd. Charlottesville, VA 22903 Phone: (434) 244-6815 Fax: (434) 296-0278 jtobin at nrao.edu

Research:

My research focuses on the envelopes of dense gas and dust surrounding very
young protostars which is falling onto the early proto-planetary disk. I am
specifically studying the structure of the envelopes surrounding the protostars;
classical theories all start with spheres of matter, my observations show that
these envelopes are anything but spherical. In addition to the structure,
I am observing radio-wavelength spectral lines arising from the dense molecular gas
to trace the velocity structure of the infalling material.


Left: High-resolution mid-infrared image of the Class 0 protostar L1527 from the
Gemini Observatory which zooms in on the Spitzer Space Telescope image shown on the right.

"Complex Structure in Class 0 Protostellar Envelopes II: Kinematic Structure
from Single-Dish and Interferometric Molecular Line Mapping",
Tobin, J. J., Hartmann, L., Chiang, H.-F., Looney, L. W., Bergin, E. A.,
Chandler, C. J., Masque, J. M., Maret, S., Heitsch, F. 2011,ApJ,in press, astro-ph

"The Inner Envelope and Disk of L1527 Revealed: Gemini L'-band Imaging",
Tobin, J. J., Hartmann, L., Loinard, L., 2010, ApJL, accepted, astro-ph, Gemini Observatory Web feature

"Complex Morphological Structure in Protostellar Envelopes",
 Tobin, J. J., Hartmann, L., Bergin, E., Looney, L., Chiang, H.-F., Heitsch, F., 2010, IAUS270, astro-ph

"Complex Structure in Class 0 Protostellar Envelopes",
Tobin, J. J., Hartmann, L., Looney, L. W., Chiang, H.-F., 2010,ApJ, 712, 1010, astro-ph