Interplanetary flux ropes of any twist distribution

¹ Astronomical Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Boční II 1401, 141 00 Praha 4, Czech Republic
e-mail: vandas@asu.cas.cz
² Lamar University, Department of Physics, PO Box 10046, Beaumont, TX 77010, USA
e-mail: eromashets@lamar.edu

Received: 6 February 2019
Accepted: 27 May 2019

Abstract

Context. Recent investigations indicate that the magnetic field configuration in interplanetary flux ropes is in contrast with the common magnetic field models that are used to fit them, namely constant-alpha force-free fields, whose twist increases without limits toward the flux-rope boundary. Therefore, magnetic field configurations with a constant twist are now being employed in fits.

Aims. Real flux ropes have varying twist. Therefore, analytical magnetic field configurations with prescribed twist distributions are searched for in cylindrical geometry.

Methods. Equations for the field solenoidality and for the force-free condition are solved for case when a twist profile is prescribed.

Results. A model of a force-free magnetic field configuration with an arbitrarily given twist distribution in a cylinder and its relative helicity per unit length are presented. It is applied to a core-envelope model recently suggested in studies of twist in magnetic clouds.