Speaker
Description
The Trinity Demonstrator is a one square meter imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescope intended to validate the proposed technique for the Trinity Neutrino Observatory and search for high-energy neutrinos. Weakly interacting and chargeless, these elusive particles deliver data directly from their extragalactic sources to Earth. Trinity telescopes use Earth-Skimming, a detection method where a neutrino enters Earth, interacts, and a subsequent tau emerges and decays in the lower atmosphere in an air shower, producing Cherenkov light. Cherenkov light is emitted by charged particles travelling faster than light propagates in the surrounding air. The Demonstrator, the first stage of the observatory, is located on Frisco Peak, Utah, and points towards the horizon to pick up this light. Science data began in October 2024, and nightly observations continue. The data collected by the Demonstrator is dominated by the night sky background and requires thorough image cleaning techniques to detect neutrinos. The Demonstrator takes roughly 7 hours' worth of data in 2-minute increments every night, recording events that trigger our camera’s readout. In the data taken from October 2024 through December 2025, we collected 554 hours of data equating to 735 GBs and consisting of 1.2 million events. The storage of data for processing and containers is done through OSDF. In the preparation of data and running the image cleaning, an order of 50,000 HTC jobs is run on OSPool via HTCondor. The benefit of which is clearly seen in the timely and significant rejection of background events. The complete classification of background events prepares Trinity to construct the next phase: Trinity One, the first full-scale Trinity Neutrino Observatory telescope.