Abstract
Static dipole polarisabilities of neutral atoms are calculated using a modified version of the McWeeny density matrix method (1960). The change in the electronic charge density induced by an external electric field is determined by minimising the total energy as a function of the density matrix elements. Exchange correlation effects are approximated by a spin-dependent Xalpha expression. The polarisabilities obtained for the ground states of the first-row and second-row atoms Li to Ar, and additionally, for the noble-metal atoms Cu, Ag and Au, are presented and compared with experiments and other theoretical results.