Coronal Transverse Magnetohydrodynamic Waves in a Solar Prominence
Lites, B. W.; Ichimoto, K.; Shibata, K.; Tsuneta, S.; Suematsu, Y.; Katsukawa, Y.; Shimizu, T.; Tarbell, T. D.; Shine, R. A.; Title, A. M.; Nagata, S.; Berger, T. E.; Okamoto, T. J.
Japan, United States
Abstract
Solar prominences are cool 104 kelvin plasma clouds supported in the surrounding 106 kelvin coronal plasma by as-yet-undetermined mechanisms. Observations from Hinode show fine-scale threadlike structures oscillating in the plane of the sky with periods of several minutes. We suggest that these represent Alfvén waves propagating on coronal magnetic field lines and that these may play a role in heating the corona.