Abstract

This paper presents an heuristic procedure by which the Lorentz transformations follow from the interactions characterized by the quantum mechanical commutation rules. A nonlinear generalization of the Lorentz transformations is derived which departs from special relativity at very high energies and establishes the observable existence of a substratum (ether). This departure from the Lorentz' invariance yields a finite zero-point vacuum energy. In a limiting case, special relativity is recovered, but the zero-point energy diverges. The theory satisfies the principle that the space-time structure should be determined from interactions instead of being postulated a priori.