9 research outputs found
ELISa: A new tool for fast modelling of eclipsing binaries
We present a new, fast, and easy to use tool for modelling light and radial
velocity curves of close eclipsing binaries with built-in methods for solving
an inverse problem. The main goal of ELISa (Eclipsing binary Learning and
Interactive System) is to provide an acceptable compromise between
computational speed and precision during the fitting of light curves and radial
velocities of eclipsing binaries. The package is entirely written in the Python
programming language in a modular fashion, making it easy to install, modify,
and run on various operating systems. ELISa implements Roche geometry and the
triangulation process to model a surface of the eclipsing binary components,
where the surface parameters of each surface element are treated separately.
Surface symmetries and approximations based on the similarity between surface
geometries were used to reduce the runtime during light curve calculation
significantly. ELISa implements the least square trust region reflective
algorithm and Markov-chain Monte Carlo optimisation methods to provide the
built-in capability to determine parameters of the binary system from
photometric observations and radial velocities. The precision and speed of the
light curve generator were evaluated using various benchmarks. We conclude that
ELISa maintains an acceptable level of accuracy to analyse data from
ground-based and space-based observations, and it provides a significant
reduction in computational time compared to the current widely used tools for
modelling eclipsing binaries.Comment: 15 pages, 18 figure