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Abstract
We investigate, from a group-theoretical point of view, the possibility of
implementing the so-called extended principle of relativity. This consists
in postulating that the set of all equivalent reference frames contains
frames whose relative velocities are larger than c, in addition to those
whose coordinates are related by proper orthochronous Lorentz
transformations. We show that implementing the extended principle of
relativity by means of either real or complex linear transformations
results in strong conflicts with experiment and/or intractable problems of
interpretation. We then briefly analyze alternative approaches to
four-dimensional superluminal transformations, in which the extended
principle of relativity is either weakened or completely abandoned.
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