Possible Role of mhd Waves in Heating the Solar Corona

Heating of the solar corona by MHD waves has been investigated. Taking account of dissipation mechanisms self-consistently, a new general dispersion relation has been derived for waves propagating in a homogeneous plasma. Solution of this sixth-order dispersion relation provides information on how the damping of both slow and fast mode waves depends upon the plasma density, temperature, field strength, and angle of propagation relative to the background magnetic field. Wave quantities with and without dissipation are presented. In particular, we consider one of the most important clues from space observations that viscosity of coronal plasma may be orders of magnitude different from its classical value in heating of the corona by MHD waves.