Adiabatic SCF potential energy curves relevant to proton–oxygen molecular collisions

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Abstract
The large vibrational inelasticity observed in proton–O2 scattering at collision energies of ∼10.0 eV and for various angular distributions below the rainbow region is examined in terms of SCF adiabatic potential energy surfaces which exhibit strong O “character” within a specific range of relative distances between colliding partners. The possibility for this O2 distortion during encounters with protons to be responsible for the unusually large inelasticity is discussed and the time factors that are likely to play an important role during the dynamics are also considered and analyzed.