  Strong deformation of ultrashort laser pulse shapes is unavoidable when
delivering high intensities at remote distances due to non-linear effects
taking place while propagating. Relying on the reversibility of laser
filamentation, we propose to explicitly design laser pulse shapes so that
propagation serves as a non-linear field synthesizer at a remote target
location. Such an approach allows, for instance, coherent control of molecules
at a remote distance, in the context of standoff detection of pathogens or
explosives.
