Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2024/iii/paper-314/1/a/solution

In a magnetostatic equilibrium, inertia is absent and all forces balance. A force-free magnetic field is the limiting case in which the Lorentz force density vanishes:
Thus the current density is parallel to the magnetic field, so for some scalar force-free parameter ,
Using Ampère's law in magnetostatics gives
Taking the divergence and using both the divergence of a curl is zero and yields
so
The force-free parameter is therefore constant along every magnetic field line.

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