Microscopic distribution functions, structure, and kinetic energy of liquid and solid neon: Quantum Monte Carlo simulations

We have performed extensive path integral Monte Carlo simulations of liquid and solid neon, in order to derive the kinetic energy as well as the single-particle and pair distribution functions of neon atoms in the condensed phases. From the single-particle distribution function n(r) one can derive the momentum distribution and thus obtain an independent estimate of the kinetic energy. The simulations have been carried out using mostly the semiempirical HFD-C2 pair potential by Aziz et al. [R. A. Aziz, W. J. Meath, and A. R. Allnatt, Chem. Phys. 79, 295 (1983)], but, in a few cases, we have also used the Lennard-Jones potential. The differences between the potentials, as measured by the properties investigated, are not very large, especially when compared with the actual precision of the experimental data. The simulation results have been compared with all the experimental information that is available from neutron scattering. The overall agreement with the experiments is very good.