Solitonlike solutions of magnetostatic equilibria: Plane-symmetric case

Abstract

We present the plane-symmetric solitonlike solutions of magnetostatic equilibria by solving the nonlinear Grad-Shafranov (GS) equation numerically. The solutions have solitonlike and periodic structures in the $x$ and $y$ directions, respectively, and $z$ is the direction of plane symmetry. Although such solutions are unstable against the numerical iteration, we give the procedure to realize the sufficient convergence. Our result provides the definite answer for the existence of the solitonlike solutions that was questioned in recent years. The method developed in this paper will make it possible to study the axisymmetric solitonlike solutions of the nonlinear GS equation, which could model astrophysical jets with knotty structures.