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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 April 2016
A fast multigrid method to calculate the linear force-free field for a prescribed photospheric flux distribution is outlined. This is used to examine an idealized model of a filament channel. The magnetic fields, for a number of different field strengths and positions, are calculated and the height up to which field lines connect along the channel is examined. This is shown to strongly depend on the value of the helicity of the system. A possible explanation, in terms of the global helicity of the system, is suggested for the dextral/sinistral hemispheric pattern observed in filament channels.