Force distribution near the critical point. The background magnetic field points out of the paper, the dotted line denotes the LC, and the black arrows indicate the force directions. a) The isolated magnetospheric configuration. b) Slightly adjusted so that the three branches of the current sheets intersect tangentially, but the forces do not synchronize. c) Heavily modified so that the three branches have matching force directions, but the volume of the bubble is curtailed near the LC.