Spontaneously generated gauge invariance

We argue that the non-observability of the spontaneous breakdown of Lorentz symmetry (SBLS) caused by the vacuum expectation values of vector fields c ould provide the origin of all internal symmetries observed. Remarkably, th e application of this principle to the most general relativistically invari ant Lagrangian, with arbitrary couplings for all the fields involved, leads by itself to the appearance of a symmetry and, what is more, to the massle ss vector field(s) gauging this symmetry. A simple model for the SBLS based on massive vector and real scalar field interactions is considered; it is found that spontaneously broken gauge symmetries could also appear, when SB LS happens and is required to be physically unobservable. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.