WDPhotTools -- A White Dwarf Photometric Toolkit in Python

TL;DR

WDPhotTools is a Python toolkit that simplifies the analysis of white dwarf data by providing visualization, photometric fitting, and luminosity function computation, integrating various models and reducing the learning curve.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive Python toolkit that consolidates models and methods for white dwarf analysis, streamlining data reduction and interpretation tasks.

Findings

Recomputed white dwarf temperatures from Gaia EDR3 show excellent agreement with previous results.

Toolkit enables visualization and fitting of white dwarf models with customizable parameters.

Provides a unified platform for computing white dwarf luminosity functions using diverse astrophysical assumptions.

Abstract

From data collection to photometric fitting and analysis of white dwarfs to generating a white dwarf luminosity function requires numerous Astrophysical, Mathematical and Computational domain knowledge. The steep learning curve makes it difficult to enter the field, and often individuals have to reinvent the wheel to perform identical data reduction and analysis tasks. We have gathered a wide range of publicly available white dwarf cooling models and synthetic photometry to provide a toolkit that allows (1) visualisation of various models, (2) photometric fitting of a white dwarf with or without distance and reddening, and (3) the computing of white dwarf luminosity functions with a choice of initial mass function, main sequence evolution model, star formation history, initial-final mass relation, and white dwarf cooling model. We have recomputed and compared the effective temperature of the white dwarfs from the Gaia EDR3 white dwarf catalogue. The two independent works show excellent agreement in the temperature solutions.