Computation of some examples of Brown's spectral measure in free probability

We use free probability techniques for computing spectra and Brown measures of some non hermitian operators in finite von Neumann algebras. Examples include u_n+u_oo where u_n and u_oo are the generators of Z_n and Z respectively, in the free product group Z_n*Z, or elliptic elements, of the form S_a+iS_b where S_a and S_b are free semi-circular elements of variance a and b. We give some pictorial evidence for connections with spectra of random matrices.