  Transverse oscillations of solar filament and prominence threads have been
frequently reported. These oscillations have the common features of being of
short period (2-10 min) and being damped after a few periods. Kink
magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) wave modes have been proposed as responsible for the
observed oscillations, whereas resonant absorption in the Alfven continuum and
ion-neutral collisions are the best candidates to be the damping mechanisms.
Here, we study both analytically and numerically the time damping of kink MHD
waves in a cylindrical, partially ionized filament thread embedded in a coronal
environment. The thread model is composed of a straight and thin, homogeneous
filament plasma, with a transverse inhomogeneous transitional layer where the
plasma physical properties vary continuously from filament to coronal
conditions. The magnetic field is homogeneous and parallel to the thread axis.
We find that the kink mode is efficiently damped by resonant absorption for
typical wavelengths of filament oscillations, the damping times being
compatible with the observations. Partial ionization does not affect the
process of resonant absorption, and the filament plasma ionization degree is
only important for the damping for wavelengths much shorter than those
observed. To our knowledge, this is the first time that the phenomenon of
resonant absorption is studied in a partially ionized plasma.
