  Electronically-induced desorption from solid Ar pre-irradiated by a
low-energy electron beam was investigated by activation spectroscopy methods -
photon-stimulated exoelectron emission and photon-stimulated luminescence in
combination with spectrally-resolved measurements in the VUV range of the
spectrum. Desorption of vibrationally excited argon molecules Ar2^*(v) from the
surface of pre-irradiated solid Ar was observed for the first time. It was
shown that desorption of 'hot' Ar2^*(v) molecules is caused by recombination of
self-trapped holes with electrons released from traps by visible range photons.
The possibility of optical stimulation of the phenomenon is evidenced.
