  Equilibrium physical properties of the solid and liquid phases of
parahydrogen, computed by first principle computer simulations, are compared
for different choices of pairwise, spherically symmetric intermolecular
potentials. The most recent ab initio potential [Patkowski et al., J. Chem.
Phys., 2008, 129, 094304], which has a stiffer repulsive core than the commonly
used Silvera-Goldman, yields results for structural quantities in better
agreement with the most recent experimental measurements, while possibly
overestimating the kinetic energy per molecule by as much as 10%. Altogether,
the comparison between theory and the available experimental evidence suggests
that the potential of Patkowski et al. may be a better choice for simulations
of condensed phases of parahydrogen at moderate pressure.
