Thermal and elastic properties of solid neon

We apply the improved effective potential Monte Carlo (IEP) and the improve d self-consistent (ISC) theories to study the thermal and elastic propertie s of natural solid Ne. As a first orientation, we use the (12-6) Lennard-Jo nes (LJ) potential for first-neighbor forces only. The two parameters in th e potential are determined From the 0 K lattice spacing and the sublimation energy of the crystal. We also create a realistic interatomic potential fo r the Ne dimer based on our study of the existing literature. When suppleme nted by many-body contributions, this potential is also used with ISC and I EP. The results are then compared with the experimental data in the literat ure. We conclude that our realistic potential which we regard as the best c urrently available is not significantly superior in accounting for the expe rimental data to the LJ potential, though both give a decent account of the experimental data.