Homogeneous metagalactic origin of cosmic rays

Starting with the hypothesis that cosmic rays are evenly distributed in the metagalaxy, it is shown that the flux of the electron-positron component, which is produced through --e decays, following the nuclear collisions of the cosmic ray beam with the intergalactic medium, takes <-4×10¹⁶ sec to reach steady state. The corresponding value of the flux of thepositron component and its implications regarding the homogeneous model of the metagalactic origin of cosmic rays are discussed.On leave from Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bombay, India.