The energy spectrum of cosmic rays above 10(17.2) eV measured by the fluorescence detectors of the Telescope Array experiment in seven years

The Telescope Array (TA) experiment is the largest detector to observe ultra-high-energy cosmic rays in the northern hemisphere. The fluorescence detectors at two stations of TA are newly constructed and have now completed seven years of steady operation. One advantage of monocular analysis of the fluorescence detectors is a lower energy threshold for cosmic rays than that of other techniques like stereoscopic observations or coincidences with the surface detector array, allowing the measurement of an energy spectrum covering three orders of magnitude in energy. Analyzing data collected during those seven years, we report the energy spectrum of cosmic rays covering a broad range of energies above 10(17.2)eV measured by the fluorescence detectors and a comparison with previously published results. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.The Telescope Array experiment is supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science through Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Specially Promoted Research (21000002) "Extreme Phenomena in the Universe Explored by Highest Energy Cosmic Rays" and for Scientific Research (19104006), and the Inter-University Research Program of the Institute for Cosmic Ray Research; by the U.S. National Science Foundation awards PHY-0307098, PHY-0601915, PHY-0649681, PHY-0703893, PHY-0758342, PHY-0848320, PHY-1069280, PHY-1069286, PHY-1404495 and PHY-1404502; by the National Research Foundation of Korea (2007-0093860, 2012R1A1A2008381, 2013004883); by the Russian Academy of Sciences, RFBR Grants 11-02-01528a and 13-02-01311a (INR), IISN project no. 4.4502.13; and Belgian Science Policy under IUAP VII/37 (ULB). The foundations of Dr. Ezekiel R. and Edna Wattis Dumke, Willard L. Eccles, and George S. and Dolores Dore Eccles all helped with generous donations. The State of Utah supported the project through its Economic Development Board, and the University of Utah through the Office of the Vice President for Research. The experimental site became available through the cooperation of the Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration (SITLA), U.S. Bureau of Land Management, and the U.S. Air Force. We also wish to thank the people and the officials of Millard County, Utah for their steadfast and warm support. We gratefully acknowledge the contributions from the technical staffs of our home institutions. An allocation of computer time from the Center for High Performance Computing at the University of Utah is gratefully acknowledged