Spectra of elements in the group ring of SU(2) (Q1280734)

The Ruziewicz problem was stated in the twenties and solved by Drinfeld not earlier than in the eighties of this century. It states that the Lebesgue measure is the only charge (= finitely additive measure) on the sphere \(S^2\) which is invariant under the group of motions \(SO(3)\) acting on the sphere. In the proof (for a lucid presentation see \textit{A. Lubotzky} [Discrete groups, expanding graphs and invariant measures. Progr. Math. 125 (Basel 1994; Zbl 0826.22012)]) Drinfeld gives a finitely generated subgroup \(\Gamma\) of \(SO(3)\) such that the representation of \(\Gamma\) on \(L^2(S^2)_0\) (orthogonal space to the space of constant functions) does not contain the trivial representation in its closure with respect to the Fell topology. Drinfeld's construction of such a \(\Gamma\) uses the Jacquet-Langlands correspondence and Deligne's proof of the Ramanujan conjecture. In the present paper a construction of groups \(\Gamma\) with the above property is given which only uses some elementary analysis. Furthermore, the present proof gives a much bigger class of groups. Here a group \(\Gamma\) is constructed by explicit generators in the set of integer points of a quaternion algebra. This makes it possible to perform the necessary computations and estimates in a rather explicit manner.