Explanation to the article "On the calibration of ultra-high energy EASs at the Yakutsk array and Telescope Array"

Abstract

We provide a detailed commentary on the energy calibration of the TA experiment described in our paper (arXiv:2404.16948 [astro-ph.HE]). That paper concludes that the TA energy estimation, which is tied to optical measurements, might be incorrect. A response from members of the TA Collaboration (arXiv:2407.12892 [astro-ph.HE]) states that this conclusion is wrong and "stems from a misinterpretation and an incorrect application of the TA energy deposit formula". Here we demonstrate that our formula for energy deposit is not in fact a rescaled modification of the TA equation, but follows from description of the processes occurring during the passage of charged particles through 1.2 cm thick scintillator. Our estimation of the TA detector response implies the correctness of the cosmic ray spectrum derived from readings of surface detectors of the array.