Event-by-event fluctuations of the mean transverse momentum $M_{p_{T}}$ at SPS energies

The study of event-by-event fluctuations has been proposed as a tool to investigate the properties of hot and dense nuclear matter created in nuclear collisions. Significant fluctuations of the mean transverse momentum beyond purely statistical ones may signal the passage of the system through the QCD phase boundary or close to the critical point. Fluctuations of M/sub PT/ provide valuable information about the dynamical evolution of A A collisions. In this contribution, recent measurements by the CERES experiment at the CERN-SPS are discussed. The analysis comprises a centrality dependent study of M/sub PT/ fluctuations near mid-rapidity in Pb-Au collisions at 40, 80, and 158 A GeV/c. The non-statistical (dynamical) contribution to M/sub PT/ fluctuations has been evaluated in terms of the fluctuation measure Sigma /sub PT/.