  We investigate the real-time dynamics of the half-filled one-dimensional
extended Hubbard model in the strong-coupling regime, when driven by a
transient laser pulse. Starting from a wide regime displaying a charge-density
wave in equilibrium, a robust photoinduced in-gap state appears in the optical
conductivity, depending on the parameters of the pulse. Here, by tuning its
conditions, we maximize the overlap of the time-evolving wavefunction with
excited states displaying the elusive bond-ordered wave of this model. Finally,
we make a clear connection between the emergence of this order and the
formation of the aforementioned in-gap state, suggesting the potential
observation of purely electronic (i.e., not associated with a Peierls
instability) bond-ordered waves in experiments involving molecular crystals.
