  High-resolution observations provide evidence about the existence of
small-amplitude transverse oscillations in solar filament fine structures.
These oscillations are believed to represent fast magnetohydrodynamic (MHD)
waves and the disturbances are seen to be damped in short timescales of the
order of 1 to 4 periods. In this Letter we propose that, due to the highly
inhomogeneous nature of the filament plasma at the fine structure spatial
scale, the phenomenon of resonant absorption is likely to operate in the
temporal attenuation of fast MHD oscillations. By considering transverse
inhomogeneity in a straight flux tube model we find that, for density
inhomogeneities typical of filament threads, the decay times are of a few
oscillatory periods only.

Astrophysics