Acoustic damping of fast kink oscillations of coronal loops

The damping of fast kink oscillations of solar coronal loops attributable t o the radiation of MHD waves into the surroundings is considered in the thi n-tube approximation. The oscillation damping decrement is calculated both by using a new energy method and by solving the dispersion equation for mag netic-tube eigenmodes. The two approaches are in good agreement under appro priate assumptions. The damping is negligible if MHD waves are radiated per pendicular to the magnetic field. The low Q factor of the loop oscillations in active regions found with the TRACE space telescope is associated with the generation of running waves that propagate along magnetic field lines. (C) 2001 MAIK "Nauka/Interperiodica".