GALFITools: A Python library to enhance GALFIT usage in galaxy image modeling

TL;DR

GALFITools is a Python library that simplifies and automates the process of galaxy image modeling with GALFIT, making it more accessible, reproducible, and scalable for researchers and students.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive Python toolkit that automates tasks like mask creation, sky estimation, PSF modeling, and parameter extraction for GALFIT workflows.

Findings

Streamlines galaxy image modeling process.

Enhances reproducibility and scalability.

Facilitates easier interpretation of GALFIT results.

Abstract

Understanding how galaxies form and evolve requires measuring their light distributions in images taken by telescopes. This process often involves fitting mathematical models to galaxy images to extract properties such as size, brightness, components, and shape. GALFIT is a widely used tool for this purpose, but it requires careful preparation of input files and interpretation of results, which can be a barrier to efficient use. GALFITools is a Python library that streamlines this workflow by automating many of the tasks surrounding the use of GALFIT. These include generating image masks, estimating sky background, modeling the telescope's point spread function (PSF), and extracting physical parameters from GALFIT outputs. The software is designed for researchers and students who work with galaxy image modeling and aims to make the process more reproducible, accessible, and scalable.