LFIT is a C++ program for fitting the lightcurves of eclipsing Dwarf Nova. It leans very heavily on Tom Marsh's C++ library for Roche geometry and it's dependencies.
LFIT also have a python (cython) wrapper to allow the computation and fitting of CV lightcurves in the Python programming language.
To install the C++ program, edit the Makefile until the line STOP_EDITING. Then simply type
make lfit
to compile the complete C++ program, or
make lfit_fake
to make a simple program that just computes lightcurves
LFIT uses a set of 14 parameters to describe a CV. These can be combined with White-Dwarf mass radius measurements to derive the mass and radius of both components in the CV. Routines for this are in the params subdirectory.
The python binding is in the sub-directory "python". As well as numpy, you will also need cython installed to create the wrapper.
Installation proceeds via the usual::
python setup.py install
if you are root, or::
python setup.py install --prefix=
if you are not.
If you want to test the module use
python setup.py build_ext --inplace
#KNOWN_ISSUES
None yet.