Abstract:
Stokes parameters measured in the Solar atmosphere are in general time or space
averages over a magnetic field probability distribution function. Here we show how to write
the Zeeman propagation matrix in a reference frame defined with respect to the direction
of a mean magnetic field and how to average over a random magnetic field distribution. We
concentrate on the case of a normal Zeeman triplet but indicate how to treat general Zeeman
patterns. Numerical results are presented for Gaussian distributions having cylindrical symmetry
about a mean field. Di erent models of probability distribution functions (PDF), are
compared.
