On the existence of non-linear force-free fields in three-dimensional domains (Q5931075)

Let \(\Omega\) be a domain in \(\mathbb{R}^3\). A three-component field function \(B\) is called force-free in \(\Omega\) if \(B\) is a solution of the system \[ (1)\quad \operatorname {curl} B\times B= 0, \qquad (2)\quad \operatorname {div}B=0. \] Despite its simple form, the nonlinear equation (1), which means that the field \(B\) and its current density \(\operatorname {curl}B\) are parallel, hides a serious complexity. It is often replaced by \[ \operatorname {curl}B= \lambda(x)B, \tag{3} \] where \(B\) as well as the scalar function \(\lambda(x)\) are unknown. The goal of the authors is to prove the existence of solutions of a corresponding boundary value problem in a simply or multiply connected domain of \(\mathbb{R}^3\) for (1) or (3). The proof is based on a fixed point argument coupled with singular perturbation method.