Workshop for young scientists with research interests focused on physics at FAIR

We discuss the prospects of computing thermal dilepton rates from first principles lattice QCD. The focus lies in the determination of the meson vector-vector current spectral function in the low mass region. We review and compare recent results from continuum-extrapolated, quenched calculations, as well as dynamical two-flavor setups. Additionally we update our two-flavor dynamical analysis to include newly generated ensembles using Wilson-Clover fermions at pion masses of 270MeV and spatial (box) lengths of 3.1fm. These lattice setups cover a temperature range of 170MeV to 340MeV, with the pseudocritical temperature at roughly 200MeV. Also large vacuum ensembles are available, enabling a comparison to the experimentally observed spectral function extracted from electron-positron annihilation to hadrons. At finite temperature, we discuss the electrical conductivity across the phase transition and the signs of the dissociation of the $\rho$ particle.