Ab initio calculations and a direct method have been applied to derive the
phonon dispersion curves and phonon density of states for the TiC crystal.
The results are compared and found to be in a good agreement with the exper
imental neutron scattering data. The force constants hat-e been determined
from the Hellmann-Feynman forces induced by atomic displacements in a 2 x 2
x 2 supercell. The calculated phonon density of states suggests that vibra
tions of Ti atoms form acoustic branches, whereas the motion of C atoms is
confined to optic branches. The elastic constants have been found using the
deformation method and compared with the results obtained from acoustic ph
onon slopes.