Speaker
Description
TWOCRYST is a proof-of-concept installation in the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN to assess the feasibility of double-crystal experiments. It is designed to provide critical input to a possible future experiment aiming to measure the dipole moments of short-lived charm baryons. A first bent crystal extracts particles from the LHC beam halo onto a target, at safe distances from the circulating beam. A second crystal installed immediately downstream induces magnetic spin precession in charmed baryons produced in the target. TWOCRYST aims to demonstrate the operational feasibility of such a configuration and to characterise the performance of bent crystals, a key component for any future experiment. It features a simplified but representative setup including both crystals, a movable fixed target within the LHC vacuum, and two tracking detectors housed in Roman Pots to observe channelled particles. The experiment was successfully installed in insertion region 3 of the LHC during the End-of-Year Technical Stop 2024/25 and has recorded first data in 2025. This contribution provides an overview of the current status of the TWOCRYST project, including hardware implementation, machine development studies, and the initial results.
