Relaxation of a Magnetized Plasma to States Other than Force-free

A theory of relaxation of a magnetized plasma based on the principle of minimum dissipation and constancy of global magnetic helicity is presented. The theory explains the occurence of a wide variety of relaxed states, which are not necessarily force free, in simulations and laboratory experiments. A solution of the Euler Lagrange equation describing the states of minimum dissipation is accomplished using the analytic continuation of the Chandrasekhar-Kendall eigenfunctions in the complex domain. Explicit forms of the solutions are constructed using appropriate boundary conditions at the boundary. The solutions, as expected, support a finite pressure gradient. The distinct feature of this theory is to show that it is possible to realize MHD equilibria with finite pressure gradient in a single fluid system even without a long-term coupling between mechanical flow and magnetic field. Keywords: relaxation, reversed-field pinches, self-organization, minimum dissipatio