ARE THERMAL SUDDEN DISAPPEARANCES OF PROMINENCES DRIVEN BY RESONANT ABSORPTION OF ALFVEN WAVES

In the present study we propose the resonant absorption of Alfven wave s as the heating mechanism that leads to thermal sudden disappearances (DBt) of prominences. The physical parameters of prominence flux tube s are used with the low-beta, linearized, resistive magnetohydrodynami c (MHD) model to calculate the heating times of prominences for a rang e of wavenumbers. The heating time dependence on the wavenumbers is co mpared to the measured times for DBt of quiescent prominences and a qu alitative agreement is found. We find that present observational evide nce is in qualitative agreement with the predictions of the resonant a bsorption heating mechanism for DBt of prominences. However, more obse rvations of DBt are required to establish the heating mechanism with a higher degree of certainty.