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Force-free fields from Hertz potentials

I M Benn and Jonathan Kress

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We show a correspondence between magnetic fields that are eigenvectors of the curl operator and certain solutions to the source-free Maxwell equations. When the eigenvalue of the curl is non-constant then the corresponding Maxwell system must be solved in a non-flat spacetime. We show how the generalized Hertz potential method of solving Maxwell's equations in curved spacetimes can be applied to determine eigenvectors of the curl. In the case of a constant eigenvalue the Chandrasekhar - Kendall eigenfunctions are recovered. For non-constant eigenvalue we use the formalism to produce some new force-free fields.


PACS

02.10.Ud Linear algebra

02.60.Cb Numerical simulation; solution of equations

MSC

65F15 Eigenvalues, eigenvectors

15A18 Eigenvalues, singular values, and eigenvectors

Subjects

Mathematical physics

Computational physics

Dates

Issue 19 (7 October 1996)

Received 14 June 1996



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