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.
At , the indicial equation has the multiple root . The general axial component is
Since , the azimuthal component is
Consequently
as ; the same ratio is identically one when . A magnetic field line has tangent parallel to , so its asymptotic angle with the -axis satisfies
Hence the field lines become helices making the constant angle
with the axis.