  By modeling a Rashba nanowire contacted to leads via an inhomogeneous
spin-orbit coupling profile, we investigate the equilibrium properties of the
spin sector when a uniform magnetic field is applied along the nanowire axis.
We find that the interplay between magnetic field and Rashba coupling generates
a spin current, polarised perpendicularly to the applied field and flowing
through the nanowire even at equilibrium. In the nanowire bulk such effect
persists far beyond the regime where the nanowire mimics the helical states of
a quantum spin Hall system, while in the leads the spin current is suppressed.
Furthermore, despite the nanowire not being proximized by superconductors, at
the interfaces with the leads we predict the appearance of localized spin
torques and spin polarizations, orthogonal to the magnetic field and partially
penetrating into the leads. This feature, due to the inhomogeneity of the
Rashba coupling, suggests to use caution in interpreting spin polarization as
signatures of Majorana fermions. When the magnetic field has a component also
along the Rashba field, its collinearity with the spin polarization and
orthogonality to the spin current are violated in the nanowire bulk too. We
analyze these quantities in terms of the magnetic field and chemical potential
for both long and short nanowires in experimentally realistic regimes.
