Measurement of UHECR energy spectrum with the Pierre Auger Observatory and the Telescope Array

Abstract

The measurement of the energy spectrum of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) is of crucial importance to clarify their origin, acceleration mechanisms, and propagation processes in interGalactic and Galactic space. The Pierre Auger Observatory in Argentina and the Telescope Array (TA) in the US have reported their measurements of UHECR energy spectra observed in the southern and northern hemisphere, respectively. The Auger-TA energy spectrum working group was established in 2012 and has been working to understand the uncertainties in energy scale in both experiments, their systematic differences, and differences in the shape of the spectra. In previous works, we reported that there was an overall agreement of the energy spectra measured by the two observatories below 10 EeV while at higher energies, a remaining significant difference was observed in the common declination band. This time we revisit the energy scales of both experiments, including the fluorescence yield and the invisible energy corrections. Another new approach to investigate a possible source of energy systematic difference is to reconstruct simulated showers of common energy and zenith angle using the detector simulation and reconstruction programs of both experiments that are independently tuned and optimized for data from their own detectors. The results will be presented at the conference.