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John
Tobin
Depatment of Astronomy
University of Michigan
1022 Dennison Bldg.
Phone: (734) 615-6141
Fax: (734) 763-6317
jjtobin at umich.edu
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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.
Selected Publications:
"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
"Constraining the Envelope Structure of L1527 IRS: Infrared Scattered
Light Modeling"
Tobin, John J.; Hartmann, Lee; Calvet, Nuria; D'Alessio, Paola, 2008,
ApJ, in press., astro-ph
"A Flattened Protostellar Envelope in Absorption around L1157"
Looney, Leslie W.; Tobin, John J.; Kwon, Woojin, 2007, ApJL, 670, L131, astro-ph,,
NASA
Press
Release
"Imaging Scattered Light from the Youngest Protostars in L1448:
Signatures of Outflows"
Tobin, John J.; Looney, Leslie W.; Mundy, Lee G.; Kwon, Woojin;
Hamidouche, Murad, 2007, ApJ, 659, 1404, astro-ph
"Radioactive Probes of
the
Supernova-Contaminated Solar Nebula: Evidence that the Sun was Born in
a Cluster"
Looney, Leslie W.; Tobin, John J.; Fields, Brian D., 2006, ApJ, 652,
1755
Research Projects:
Current:
- Kinematic structure of dense gas surrounding Class 0 protostars (2009
- present)
- HOPS - Herschel Orion Protostar Survey (2009 - present)
- Radial velocity measurements of stars in young clusters (Orion and
NGC 2264) (ongoing)
- Near to Mid-infrared imaging of protostellar envelopes in scattered
light (ongoing)
Past:
- Determining the Morphological structure of envelopes around Class 0
protostars (2008 - 2010)
- Modeling the envelope
of Class 0 source L1527 using IRAC data and Monte Carlo radiative
transfer code (2006 - 2008)
- Modeling the
extinction of a flattened circumstellar envelope in L1157 viewed
in silhouette at 8.0 microns (2007)
- Reverberation Mapping of AGN
(observed with CCDS on MDM 1.3m) (2007)
- Modeling Class 0 YSOs
in L1448 using IRAC data and Monte Carlo radiative
transfer code (2005 - 2007)
- Determining the birth
environment of the sun based on radioactive
isotope abundances in the solar system (2005)
Teaching:
Fall 2008:
- Astronomy 104 Lab instructor
Winter 2007:
- Astronomy 101 Discussion Instructor
Conferences:
IAU Symposium 270: Computational Star formation, June 2010, Contributed
Talk: "Morphological Complexity of Protostellar Envelopes"
American Astronomical
Society, January 2010, Poster: "Characterizing Non-Axisymmetric
Protostellar Envelopes"
CARMA Science Symposium,
October 2009, Contributed talk: "Characterizing Non-Axisymmetric
Protostellar Envelopes"
Gordon Conference on the "Origins of Solar Systems", July 2007, Poster:
"Constraining the Envelope Structure of L1527"
American Astronomical Society, January 2006, Poster: "Star Formation in L1448:
Signatures of Outflows"
Education:
2006 - present:
Graduate student, Ph.D candidate, University of Michigan
2003 - 2006:
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
B.S. Astronomy, High Distinction
Last Updated: September 7, 2010