Nonlocal electron transport in laser heated plasmas

Nonlocal theory of an electron transport in laser-produced plasmas with the large ion charge and arbitrary ratio of the characteristic spatial scale length to the electron mean free path has been developed for small potential perturbations. Closure relations have been derived from the solution to the electron Fokker-Planck equation which includes inverse bremsstrahlung heating and ponderomotive effects. All electron transport coefficients and their dependence on the laser intensity have been found. An expression for the electron heat flux includes laser field and plasma flow contributions. Identification of these different sources is necessary for the unique definition of the thermal transport coefficient which is independent of the particular application. A complete derivation of the potential part of the ponderomotive force in the presence of inverse bremsstrahlung heating has been presented. (C) 1998 American Institute of Physics. [S1070-664X(98)03607-6].