On the theory of translationally invariant magnetohydrodynamic equilibria with anisotropic pressure and magnetic shear

Abstract

We present an improved formalism for translationally invariant magnetohydrodynamic equilibria with anisotropic pressure and currents with a field aligned component. The derivation of a Grad-Shafranov type equation is given along with a constraint which links the shear field to the parallel pressure. The difficulties of the formalism are discussed and various methods of circumventing these difficulties are given. A simple example is then used to highlight the methods and difficulties involved.