Valence energies for crystalline C, Si, Ge, and Sn with diamond structure
have been determined using an ab-initio approach based on information from
cluster calculations. Correlation contributions, in particular, have been
evaluated in the coupled electron pair approximation (CEPA), by means of
increments obtained for localized bond orbitals and for pairs and triples of
such bonds. Combining these results with corresponding Hartree-Fock (HF) data,
we recover about 95 % of the experimental cohesive energies. Lattice constants
are overestimated at the HF level by about 1.5 %; correlation effects reduce
these deviations to values which are within the error bounds of this method. A
similar behavior is found for the bulk modulus: the HF values which are
significantly too high are reduced by correlation effects to about 97 % of the
experimental values.Comment: 22 pages, latex, 2 figure
