Beacon · Discovery Signal Architecture

Discovery Signal Types

Discovery Signal Types establish the governed classification vocabulary used to describe what kind of discovery a Beacon-owned Discovery Signal represents.

Signal Type classifies the signal. It does not transfer the authority, status, or institutional meaning of the source object into Beacon.

Purpose

The Entry Model established Signal Type as a structural component of every Discovery Signal. This page defines the initial classification architecture for that component.

Entry Model → establishes that a signal has a type.

Signal Types → establishes what those classifications mean.

Classification Principle

A Signal Type should describe the nature of the discovery, not duplicate the institutional authority of the source.

Signal Type → discovery classification
Source Object Type → source identity
Source Status → source authority

These are related, but they are not interchangeable.

Initial Signal-Type Architecture

Beacon's production architecture establishes eight governed discovery categories as the initial classification vocabulary for Beacon-owned Discovery Signals.

Information · Jurisdiction · Certification · Registry · Historical · Integrity · Trust · Relationship

Information Signal

Identifies information whose discovery is relevant enough to preserve as a Beacon signal but whose primary discovery meaning is not better represented by a more specialized governed type.

  • General information discovery
  • Relevant update or observation
  • Attributable source required
  • May reference internal or external information
Information should not become a catch-all substitute for a more precise signal type.

Jurisdiction Signal

Identifies discovery associated with a jurisdiction, jurisdictional condition, or relevant jurisdiction intelligence.

  • May reference Atlas Authoritative Intelligence
  • May identify jurisdiction-related external information
  • Preserves jurisdiction context
  • Does not create or modify Atlas authority
Beacon signals jurisdiction relevance. Atlas remains authoritative for Atlas-owned intelligence.

Certification Signal

Identifies certification-related information observed from an authoritative source.

  • May reference a Certification Package
  • May reference a related SREG
  • May describe an observed certification state or change
  • Uses the specialized Certification Signals architecture where applicable
Certifier owns certification authority. Beacon owns the Discovery Signal.

Registry Signal

Identifies discovery associated with Registry-owned records, registration activity, catalog state, or other relevant Registry information.

  • May reference an SREG
  • May identify registration or lifecycle relevance
  • Preserves Registry as source institution
  • Does not create or alter registration
Beacon may signal Registry information. Registry remains authoritative for SREG.

Historical Signal

Identifies discovery associated with historically preserved material or a relevant Chronicle Entry.

  • May reference a Chronicle Entry
  • May identify historical relevance
  • May connect discovery to a preserved Occurrence
  • Does not determine Preservation Eligibility
Chronicle owns historical preservation. Beacon exposes discovery context around it.

Integrity Signal

Identifies discovery associated with integrity information or an Anchor-owned Integrity Reference.

  • May reference an Integrity Reference
  • May surface verification or integrity-related context
  • Preserves Anchor as source authority
  • Does not perform Anchor Verification
Beacon discovers integrity information. Anchor owns the Integrity Reference and integrity-preservation process.

Trust Signal

Identifies discovery associated with trust-related information or an Attestor-owned Trust Statement.

  • May reference a Trust Statement
  • May surface trust-related context
  • May identify a relevant trust-related change or observation
  • Does not itself constitute trust assessment
A Trust Signal is not a Trust Statement. Attestor retains trust-assessment authority.

Relationship Signal

Identifies a meaningful discovered relationship between objects, institutions, sources, subjects, or other governed entities.

  • Preserves both relationship endpoints
  • Preserves relationship provenance
  • May connect Suite and external references
  • Does not manufacture relationships unsupported by evidence
A relationship should be signaled only when its basis is attributable and reviewable.

Signal Type vs. Source Object Type

Beacon must not assume that the type of a referenced source object automatically determines the Discovery Signal Type.

Source Object → what the referenced object is.
Signal Type → what kind of discovery Beacon is recording.

One source object may support different discoveries in different contexts.

For example, an Integrity Reference may be the source for an Integrity Signal, but it might also participate in a Relationship Signal when the discovered fact concerns its governed relationship to another object.

Specialized Signal Profiles

A general Signal Type may support a specialized profile when a domain requires additional controlled semantics.

The first established example is:

Certification Signal
→ specialized through /beacon/certification-signals/

Specialized profiles may refine metadata or permitted values without changing Beacon's institutional ownership of the Discovery Signal.

Multiple Relevant Classifications

A discovery may appear to touch more than one category. Production architecture should prefer the type that best expresses the signal's primary discovery meaning.

Prefer one primary governed Signal Type.

Preserve secondary context through references, metadata, and relationships rather than uncontrolled multi-classification.

Whether production will permit secondary classifications remains intentionally unfrozen.

Type Assignment Requirements

A Signal Type is assignable only when the signal provides sufficient evidence and context to support that classification.

  • Type must come from governed vocabulary
  • Source must be attributable
  • Classification must match discovery context
  • Specialized profiles must satisfy their own requirements
  • Type must not imply unsupported authority

What Signal Type Does Not Establish

Classification alone does not establish:

  • truth
  • certification
  • registration
  • historical significance
  • integrity verification
  • trust
  • source authority
  • publication eligibility
Signal Type classifies discovery. Other institutions and later Beacon processes govern the rest.

Controlled Vocabulary Posture

The eight initial types are established as Beacon's governed classification set. The institutional vocabulary and validation architecture are defined and have now been exercised in production. Exact machine-readable enum serialization, aliases, and future extensibility rules remain intentionally unfrozen.

Governed Signal Types → established
Initial Types → 8
Validation Architecture → defined
Production Validation → exercised
Production Proof → BEAC-2026-0001
Machine-Readable Enum Serialization → not yet frozen

Authority Boundary

A Discovery Signal Type describes Beacon's discovery object. It does not convert the source institution's authority into Beacon authority.

Certification Signal ≠ Certification Package
Registry Signal ≠ SREG
Historical Signal ≠ Chronicle Entry
Integrity Signal ≠ Integrity Reference
Trust Signal ≠ Trust Statement

Reference does not transfer authority.

Relationship to the Entry Model

Signal Type now occupies a defined place inside the Discovery Signal Entry Model:

Identity → Subject → Signal Type → Source → Provenance → Canonical References → Discovery Metadata → Timestamps → Version → Status → Relationships

Lifecycle architecture now governs how a Discovery Signal moves through institutional states over time.

First Production Signal Type

Beacon's Signal Type architecture has now been exercised through BEAC-2026-0001.

Discovery Signal → BEAC-2026-0001
Title → Active Operational Certification — Atlas Jurisdiction Record — El Salvador
Primary Signal Type → Certification
Primary Source → Satoshium Certifier · SC-CERT-2026-0001
Source Object Type → Canonical Certification Package
Observed Source Status → Issued · Active · Operational
Lifecycle → Active
Publication → Published
Version → 1.0

This production object demonstrates the governing distinction: Signal Type ≠ Source Object Type ≠ Source Status.

Current Status

Beacon Status → Operational · September 2026
Signal-Type Architecture → Defined and production-exercised
Governed Signal Types → 8
Machine-Readable Enum Serialization → Not yet frozen
Production Validation → Exercised
First Production Discovery Signal → BEAC-2026-0001 · Certification · Active · Published
Classify the discovery without inheriting the authority.