Observation of topological rainbow in non-Hermitian systems

Topological photonic states have promising applications in slow light, photon sorting, and optical buffering. However, realizing such states in non-Hermitian systems has been challenging due to their complexity and elusive properties. In this work, we have experimentally realized a topological rainbow in non-Hermitian photonic crystals by controlling loss in the microwave frequency range for what we believe is the first time. We reveal that the lossy photonic crystal provides a reliable platform for the study of non-Hermitian photonics, and loss is also taken as a degree of freedom to modulate topological states, both theoretically and experimentally. This work opens a way for the construction of a non-Hermitian photonic crystal platform, will greatly promote the development of topological photonic devices, and will lay a foundation for the real-world applications.