Abstract
The inelastic scattering of protons by oxygen molecules is treated for the collision situation resulting in the excitation of the upper state of the Schumann-Runge system. The incident proton energy ranges from 1 to 50 keV. The total cross sections and the growth coefficient phases for this scattering are computed using the two-state impact-parameter treatment. The distortion of the molecular charge cloud by the incident proton is taken into account in the phase calculation. A method for multistate impact parameter treatment of the inelastic collision is developed, and the equations therefor are derived.