Observation of topology of non-Hermitian systems without chiral symmetry

Abstract Topological invariants are crucial for characterizing topological systems. However, experimentally measuring them presents a significant challenge, especially in non-Hermitian systems where the biorthogonal eigenvectors are often necessary. We propose a general approach for measuring the topological invariants of one-dimensional non-Hermitian systems, which can be derived from the spin textures of right eigenstates. By utilizing a dilation method, we realize a non-Hermitian system without chiral symmetry on a two-qubit nuclear magnetic resonance system and measure the winding number associated with the eigenstates. In addition to examining the topology of the eigenstates, our experiment also reveals the topological structure of the energy band, which differs from that in chiral systems. Our work paves the way for further exploration of complex topological properties in non-Hermitian systems without chiral symmetry.