Dilepton production from ρ-mesons in a quark-gluon plasma

Abstract: Assuming that ρ-mesons exist in a quark-gluon plasma at temperatures close to the QCD phase transition, we calculate the dilepton production rate from q-¯q annihilation via a ρ-meson state using Vector Meson Dominance. The result is compared to the rates from direct q-¯q annihilation and from π+-π− annihilation. Furthermore we discuss the suppression of low mass dileptons if the quarks assume an effective mass in the quark-gluon plasma.