SMATASY - A program for the model independent description of the Z resonance

SMATASY is an interface for the ZFITTER package and may be used for the model independent description of the Z resonance at LEP 1 and SLC. It allows the determination of the Z mass and width and its resonance shape parameters r and j for cross-sections and their asymmetries. The r describes the peak height and j the interference of the Z resonance with photon exchange in each scattering channel and for $\sigma_T$, $\sigma_{FB}$, $\sigma_{lr}$, $\sigma_{pol}$ etc. separately. Alternatively, the helicity amplitudes for a given scattering channel may be determined. We compare our formalism with other model independent approaches. The model independent treatment of QED corrections in SMATASY is applicable also far away from the Z peak.