Strong reduction of nonlocal electron heat transport in magnetized laser produced plasma*

We present a direct measurement of the reduction of nonlocal heat transport in laser-produced plasma by applying large external magnetic fields ($>$ 10 T). Imaging Thomson scattering measurements of the electron temperature profile show confinement of the heat wave transverse to a high-power laser beam resulting in strong local heating. The electron temperature increases from 200 eV to 800 eV when a 12 Tesla magnetic field is applied. We find agreement with hydrodynamic modeling (using LASNEX) when including a magnetic field model that self-consistently evolves the fields in the plasma.