GENERAL AXISYMMETRICAL MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMIC FLOWS - THEORY AND SOLUTIONS

We formulate the theory of general axisymmetric, steady state, nonrela tivistic, ideal magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flows in the presence of pre ssure and gravity. Magnetic flux is continuously advected by the flow and accumulates in a region around the axis of symmetry. This situatio n might have direct astrophysical applications in accretion outflow sc enarios around compact objects in stellar systems and active galactic nuclei. The present work is fundamentally different from ail previous steady state analyses which have assumed that the poloidal flow veloci ty v(p) is parallel to the poloidal magnetic field B-p. We obtain the condition which determines the critical points of the flow. We also ob tain self-consistent self-similar solutions which describe an accretio n/outflow process around a compact object, under conditions allowing f or magnetic flux advection.