On the existence of left and right eigenvalues

Abstract

In this note, we consider arbitrary finite-dimensional real algebras containing a copy of complex numbers. It is proved that matrices with entries from an arbitrary finite-dimensional real algebra containing a square root of negative one in its left (resp. right) associate set have left (resp. right) eigenvalues. A quick consequence of our main result is the existence of left and right eigenvalues for matrices with entries from finite-dimensional alternatives algebras containing a copy of complex numbers, e.g., octonions, and more generally matrices with entries from the real Cayley-Dickson algebras.