Lattice statics and dynamics of the NaF crystal

The present work is an attempt to unify the lattice statics and dynamics of an alkali halide crystal through a phenomenological approach. A par­ticular variant of the shell model, namely the deformable shell model has been chosen for the purpose. The different lattice static and dynamic properties of the NaF crystal have been calculated on the model, the same set of parameters being used throughout. The results of the calculation are compared with experiment and the possible source of improvement is suggested. In view of the limited number of parameters used and the drastic approximation introduced in the calculation of certain properties, the overall agreement seems to be quite encouraging and gives some confidence in this approach of considering an alkali halide crystal in all its entirety.