Reconstruction of magnetic flux ropes in the solar wind

We recover two‐dimensional magnetic structures of small‐scale flux ropes in the solar wind from WIND spacecraft data by solving the plane Grad‐Shafranov equation as a spatial initial value problem. The cross‐sections of two recovered flux ropes show nested non‐circular loops of transverse field lines rather than concentric circles. The expected helical structure is recovered, albeit with significant distortions from axial symmetry. The rope structures are self‐consistent, non‐force free, magnetohydrostatic equilibria. Their orientations are determined by a novel technique.