Analytical study of plasma heating by resonant absorption of the modified external kink mode

A simplified analytic description is used to understand recent results of large-scale numerical simulations of resonant absorption and to disentangle the basic physics. It is shown that very efficient absorption takes place at frequencies where a discrete external kink and an Alfven continuum mode merge into a modified external kink mode. The relation between this ''hybrid'' mode and ''pure'' continuum or discrete spectrum modes is discussed. (Author)