The first experimental study of the propagation of electrons
created by an intense laser in shock-compressed matter has
been performed with the VULCAN laser facility at the
Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, to investigate one of
the fundamental phases of the fast ignitor concept for
inertial confinement fusion. Plastic plane targets were
irradiated on one side with two pulsed laser beams, each
with I ≈ 1014 W/cm2,
t ≈ 2 ns, E ≈ 80 J per pulse, to
generate a planar shock wave; on the opposite side of the
target, a chirped pulse amplification (CPA) laser beam
(I ≈ 1016 W/cm2,
t ≈ 3 ps, E ≈ 10 J) was focused
to generate the fast electrons. The results show an increase
of hot electron penetration in compressed matter with respect
to an ordinary one. Experimental results have been analyzed
with computer simulations.