The damping of slow magnetoacustic waves in coronal loops

It has been recognized long time ago that magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) waves must exist in the solar corona and their presence has a very important implication for the dynamics, heating and stability of the coronal plasma. A new era in the study of this solar region started after the launch of the high resolution SOHO and TRACE satellites which has changed our view of the solar corona in many ways. Using data provided by these space telescopes, scientists were able to discover the existence of waves propagating in the solar corona. High cadence TRACE observations show that outward propagating intensity disturbances are a common feature in large, quiescent coronal loops, close to active regions. One of the basic characteristics of all observed waves is their rapid damping. A model which includes the effect of stratification and thermal damping is used to study the effect of stratification on thermally damped slow and fast magnetoacoustic waves in propagating in coronal loops.