Simulations of Timing Configurations for the Los Alamos National Lab nEDM Experiment

The Los Alamos nEDM experiment plans to achieve a measurement that lowers the upper bound on the neutron's permanent electric dipole moment by an order of magnitude after accumulating measurement data over a live-time equivalent to one year of continuous running. This data is taken over numerous measurement cycles, each of which includes the loading of the Ultracold Neutrons (UCNs) into the two measurement cells, performing a Ramsey sequence on the UCNs, and then unloading them to simultaneous spin analyzers. In order to achieve the best statistical sensitivity in each measurement cycle, we face a problem where we must simultaneously optimize several timings to maximize the integrated neutrons counted so that we get the most out of the UCN production time. Determining the timings of each phase is an intricacy that must be considered for each unique nEDM experiment due to differences in factors like geometries and material coatings. Since live-time of the source is so valuable, it is imperative that we have an idea of the measurement cycle timings before data taking begins. In this talk, I will discuss how this timing-optimization problem is tackled via Monte-Carlo simulations of UCNs in the experimental geometry using PENTrack. Results from the loading and unloading phases produced a figure of merit that is maximized with respect to the phases' timings.