Quasi-steady axisymmetric flow in the Eddington–Sweet regime when a dipolar (top row) or quadrupolar (bottom row) field is initially imposed. Panels of the first column: rotation rate normalised to the top value (colour) and poloidal field lines (black). Panels of the second column: toroidal field (colour) with the streamlines of the electrical-current function (black). Panels of the third column: norm (colour) and streamlines (black) of the total meridional circulation . Panels of the fourth column: norm (colour) and streamlines (black) of the contraction-induced meridional circulation U_p = U_re_r + U_θe_θ. The dashed lines represent an anticlockwise electrical (panels of the second column) or fluid (panels of the third and fourth columns) circulation while the solid lines correspond to a clockwise direction. The parameters are E = 10⁻⁵, P_r(N₀/Ω₀)² = 10⁻¹, P_m = 10², Re_c = 1, L_u = 10⁵ and ρ_i/ρ₀ = 20.85 (runs D28 and Q13 of Table 1).