  The long-range energy deposition by heavy-ion beams makes new types of shock
wave experiments possible in the laboratory. We have investigated a situation
that is of relevance to supernova dynamics in astrophysics, where a shock wave
is irradiated by a flux of neutrinos depositing energy throughout the shock
wave and surrounding matter, thus changing the behaviour of the running shock.
We have carried out fluid-dynamical simulations to study generic features of
stimulated shock waves. First we consider an idealized case assuming uniform
energy deposition into a planar shock wave propagating through an ideal gas.
Then we investigate more realistic situations realizable in laboratory
experiments with heavy-ion beams. We have found that energy deposition leads to
two important effects: acceleration of the shock front and decay of the shock
strength. The possibility of laboratory experiments is briefly discussed.
