  RX J1856.5-3754 is one of the brightest nearby isolated neutron stars, and
considerable observational resources have been devoted to it. However, current
models are unable to satisfactorily explain the data. We show that our latest
models of a thin, magnetic, partially ionized hydrogen atmosphere on top of a
condensed surface can fit the entire spectrum, from X-rays to optical, of RX
J1856.5-3754, within the uncertainties. In our simplest model, the best-fit
parameters are an interstellar column density N_H \approx 1x10^20 cm^-2 and an
emitting area with R^infty \approx 17 km (assuming a distance to RX
J1856.5-3754 of 140 pc), temperature T^infty \approx 4.3x10^5 K, gravitational
redshift z_g \sim 0.22, atmospheric hydrogen column y_H \approx 1 g cm^-2, and
magnetic field B \approx (3-4)x10^12 G; the values for the temperature and
magnetic field indicate an effective average over the surface. We also
calculate a more realistic model, which accounts for magnetic field and
temperature variations over the neutron star surface as well as general
relativistic effects, to determine pulsations; we find there exist viewing
geometries that produce pulsations near the currently observed limits. The
origin of the thin atmospheres required to fit the data is an important
question, and we briefly discuss mechanisms for producing these atmospheres.
Our model thus represents the most self-consistent picture to date for
explaining all the observations of RX J1856.5-3754.
