On the numerical computation of nonlinear force-free magnetic fields

An algorithm has been developed to extrapolate nonlinear force-free magnetic fields from a source surface, given the proper boundary conditions. The results of this work; describing the mathematical formalism that was developed, the numerical techniques employed, and the stability criteria developed for these numerical schemes are presented. An analytical solution is used for a test case; the results show that the computational accuracy for the case of a nonlinear force-free magnetic field was on the order of a few percent ( 5%).