Tracking cosmic-ray spectral variations with neutron monitor time-delay measurements at high cutoff rigidity during 2007-2017

We present measurements of the leader fraction of neutron monitor counts that did not follow other counts in the same counter tube from the same cosmic ray shower. We use time-delay histograms collected at the Princess Sirindhorn Neutron Monitor at Doi Inthanon, Thailand, which has the world's highest vertical cutoff rigidity for a fixed station (16.8 GV). Changes in the leader fraction are a precise indicator of cosmic ray spectral variations above the cutoff. Our data set from 2007 to 2017 spans a full cycle of solar modulation, including the all-time cosmic ray maximum of 2009 and minimum near the end of 2014, the count rate now having returned to its initial value. The electronics to collect time-delay histograms have been upgraded twice, and we have corrected for such changes to develop a long-term leader fraction dataset. We examine the spectral variation of Galactic cosmic rays above $\sim$17 GV resulting from solar modulation and its solar magnetic polarity dependence.