  We performed Monte Carlo simulations of systems of wedge-shaped objects
formed from Gay-Berne ellipsoids joined to Lennard-Jones spheres. We studied
two different wedge shapes, one more asymmetric than the other. The bend and
splay flexoelectric coefficients were measured in the isotropic and smectic
phases using linear response theory, and found to be negligibly small in the
isotropic phase. We found a close connection between the properties of the
intermolecular potential and the flexoelectric coefficients measured in the
smectic phase. In particular, we found negligible bend coefficients for both
shapes and a larger magnitude of the splay coefficient for the more prominent
wedge, in accord with Meyer's original mechanism for flexoelectricity. The less
prominent wedge produced a splay flexoelectric coefficient with the opposite
sign due to the attractive tail of the intermolecular potential and the
relative narrowness of the molecular head.
