Let us consider a matrix $M^{(a)}$ of size $N \times N$, having $N$ eigenvalues $\lambda_i \in \mathbb{C}$.
Considering a rank-3 tensor, we can informally think of it as a sequence of $N$ matrices $M^{(a)}$ (where $1\leq a\leq N$) of size $N\times N$. Then, if we fix one of the components we recover a matrix $M^{(a)}$ with complex eigenvalues.
Has there been any literature on extending eigenvalues for rank-3 tensors where the eigenvalues are represented as quaternions? Where now the eigenvalues $\lambda_i=a+b\mathrm{i}+c\mathrm{j}+d\mathrm{k}$.
I know there exist different generalizations on eigenvalues of tensors but I am particularly keen on knowing if there exists one linked with quaternions.
Thank you for your help.
Edit: I am aware the notation is not very rigorous, I still have trouble formulating my problem in a rigorous way: we can represent the components of a rank-3 tensor $\Lambda$ by $\Lambda_{ijk}$ where $1\leq i,j,k \leq N$. Then if we fix one of the components we technically recover the components of a matrix: for example for $k=1$ we obtain a matrix $\Lambda_{ij1}$ for $1\leq i,j \leq N$ and we can attribute an eigenvalue to it. Depending which index we fix, we will get a sequence of matrices. There are three combination possible so I was thinking of something in those lines:
fixing the first index will give us complex eigenvalues with imaginary part $\mathbf{i}$, fixing the second index will give us a matrix with eigenvalues whose imaginary part are $\mathbf{j}$ and fixing the third index will yield eigenvalues with imaginary part $\mathbf{k}$. For example fixing the third index at $k=4$ will yield a quaternionic eigenvalue with imaginary part $\mathbf{k}$: \begin{align*} \sum_j \Lambda_{ij4}v_j&=\lambda_i v_i\\ &=(a+\mathbf{k} b)v_i \quad \text{where } a,b\in\mathbb{R} \end{align*} Where $\vec{v}$ would be an eigenvector of the resulting matrix.
Therefore could we define $N$ general eigenvalues $\lambda_i=a+b\mathbf{i}+c\mathbf{j}+d\mathbf{k}$ for the tensor $\lambda$ without having to consider fixing indices?
It seems an intuitive generalization of complex eigenvalues for rank-3 tensors and this would enable us to keep definitions and hence nice properties of the resolvent or distribution of eigenvalues.
If there are obvious inconsistencies in this generalization please let me know and I will close this topic.