Towards Interferometric Triggering on Air Showers Induced by Tau Neutrino Interactions

The Beamforming Elevated Array for COsmic Neutrinos ( BEACON) Experiment aims to implement a new interferometric trigger targeting air showersinitiated by the decay of tau leptons created during neutrino interactions in the earth at energies greater than 100 PeV. Over the past decade, interferometric techniques have been successfully implemented in analysis for many of the leading UHE particle experiments. BEACONhas included interferometry at the trigger level, by implementing a beamforming technique in which signals are coherently summed, improving overall sensitivity and providing robust rejection against man-made backgrounds. A two-antenna short-term interferometer and a four-antenna long-term interferometer, both targeting the 30-80 MHz range, were installed on White Mountainnear Bishop, California, as part of a months-long site study of man-made backgrounds and rates. Successfully suppressing man-made backgrounds will lead future iterations of BEACONto trigger on both cosmic rays from above and tau lepton air showersfrom tau neutrinointeractions near the horizon.