Analytical and numerical solutions of force-free equilibria with flow

The model of plasma equilibrium in the presence of toroidal and poloidal flows is studied for a force-free plasma. With these simplifying assumptions the set of Grad-Shafranov-Bernoulli equations decouples. Analytical solutions are found in some limits. These solutions are compared with numerical simulations using the FLOW code. It is shown that in the presence of a general unconstrained flow, with poloidal and/or toroidal components, the force-free solutions are not consistent with a confined plasma state with monotonically decreasing pressure.