We present a simple yet powerful method to test models of cosmic-ray (CR) origin using the distribution of CR arrival directions. The method is statistically unambiguous in the sense that it is binless and does not invoke scanning over unknown parameters, and general in the sense that it can be applied to any model that predicts a continuous distribution of CRs over the sky. We show that it provides a powerful discrimination between an isotropic distribution and predictions from the "matter tracer" model, a benchmark model that assumes small CR deflections and a continuous distribution of sources tracing the distribution of matter in the Universe. Our method is competitive or superior in statistical power to existing methods, and is especially sensitive in the case of relatively few high-energy events. Applying the method to the present data we find that neither an isotropic distribution nor the matter tracer model can be excluded. Based on estimates of its statistical power, we expect that the proposed test will lead to meaningful constraints on models of CR origin with the data that will be accumulated within the next few years by the Pierre Auger Observatory and the Telescope Array.

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We investigate the fate of very compact, sudden energy depositions that may lie at the origin of gamma-ray bursts. Following on from the work of Cavallo and Rees (1978), we take account of the much higher energies now believed to be involved. The main effect of this is that thermal neutrinos are present and energetically important. We show that these may provide sufficient cooling to tap most of the explosion energy. However, at the extreme energies usually invoked for gamma-ray bursts, the neutrino opacity suffices to prevent dramatic losses, provided that the heating process is sufficiently fast. In a generic case, a few tens of percent of the initial fireball energy will escape as an isotropic millisecond burst of thermal neutrinos with a temperature of about 60 MeV, which is detectable for nearby gamma-ray bursts and hypernovae. For parameters we find most likely for gamma-ray burst fireballs, the dominant processes are purely leptonic, and thus the baryon loading of the fireball does not affect our conclusions.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures. To be submitted to MNRA

We consider gamma-ray burst outflows with a substantial neutron component that are either dominated by thermal energy (fireballs) or by magnetic energy. In the latter case, we focus on the recently introduced "AC" model which relies on magnetic reconnection to accelerate the flow and power the prompt emission. For both the fireball and the AC model, we investigate the dynamical importance of neutrons on the outflow. We study particle creation in inelastic neutron-proton collisions and find that in both models the resulting neutrino emission is too weak to be detectable. The inelastic collisions also produce γ-rays, which create pairs in interactions with soft photons carried with the flow. In magnetically driven outflows, the energy of these pairs is radiated away as synchrotron emission. The bulk of the emission takes place at a few hundred keV, which makes it difficult to disentangle this signal from the prompt emission. In fireballs, however, pair cascading leads to the emission of γ-rays with observer energy in the range of 2-20 GeV and a fluence well above the GLAST threshold. Therefore this emission can be a useful diagnostic of the nature of the outflow.