Interferometric Reconstruction of Radio Signatures of Air Showers from a High-Elevation Mountain

Ultra-high energy neutrinos can give us a unique view into high energy physics processes in our universe. The Beamforming Elevated Array for Cosmic Neutrinos (BEACON) aims to detect tau neutrinos with energies in excess of 100 PeV. Tau neutrino interactions in the Earth can generate tau leptons that escape and decay to produce air showers. By pointing a radio interferometer at the horizon from a high-elevation mountain, BEACON is optimized to search for the radio signature induced by the decays of tau leptons. The prototype, located in the White Mountains of California, operates in the 30 to 80 MHz range. I will discuss an ongoing study aimed to reconstruct the Xmax with BEACON and direction using interferometric techniques. Preliminary studies using microscopic models of radio emission from cosmic rays show good performance in reconstructing Xmax and we will apply these techniques to tau leptons in future work.