Searching for quark matter with dileptons and photons: From SPS to relativistic heavy-ion collider

Abstract

The heavy-ion programme at the CERN SPS, which started back in '86, has produced a wealth of very interesting and intriguing results in the quest for the quark-gluon plasma. The highlights of the programme on dilepton and direct photon measurements are reviewed emphasizing the most recent results obtained in Pb-Pb collisions at 158 A GeV. Prospects from RHIC are discussed.