2015/03/20 by A. Pelissetto, Andrea Pelissetto, M. Testa +1 · 2 voices · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · Mathematics · #Relativity and Gravitational Theory #Noncommutative and Quantum Gravity Theories #Mathematics and Applications
paper · pdf · doi:10.1119/1.4901453
The structure of the Lorentz transformations follows purely from the absence of privileged inertial reference frames and the group structure (closure under composition) of the transformations—two assumptions that are simple and physically necessary. The existence of an invariant speed is not a necessary assumption and in fact is a consequence of the principle of relativity (though the finite value of this speed must, of course, be obtained from experiment). Von Ignatowsky derived this result in 1911, but it is still not widely known and is absent from most textbooks. Here, we present a completely elementary proof of the result, suitable for use in an introductory course in special relativity.