lenstronomy II: A gravitational lensing software ecosystem

TL;DR

lenstronomy II is an expanded, modular Python software ecosystem for gravitational lensing analysis, supporting diverse scientific applications and fostering community-driven development.

Contribution

This paper introduces lenstronomy II, a comprehensive and extensible software ecosystem that enhances gravitational lensing research through modular design and community engagement.

Findings

Widely adopted in gravitational lensing studies

Supports diverse applications like Hubble constant measurement and dark matter constraints

Fosters an open-source, community-driven development environment

Abstract

lenstronomy is an Astropy-affiliated Python package for gravitational lensing simulations and analyses. lenstronomy was introduced by Birrer and Amara (2018) and is based on the linear basis set approach by Birrer et a. (2015). The user and developer base of lenstronomy has substantially grown since then, and the software has become an integral part of a wide range of recent analyses, such as measuring the Hubble constant with time-delay strong lensing or constraining the nature of dark matter from resolved and unresolved small scale lensing distortion statistics. The modular design has allowed the community to incorporate innovative new methods, as well as to develop enhanced software and wrappers with more specific aims on top of the lenstronomy API. Through community engagement and involvement, lenstronomy has become a foundation of an ecosystem of affiliated packages extending the original scope of the software and proving its robustness and applicability at the forefront of the strong gravitational lensing community in an open source and reproducible manner.