While topological properties of electromagnetic waves are commonly associated with photonic (i.e. periodic) structures, it has been recently demonstrated that even continuous media such as magnetized plasmas can support topologically protected one-way edge states. We demonstrate that, under some circumstances, such waves can be damped even without any dissipation, i.e. for a purely Hermitian permittivity tensor. Such damping is attributed to localized resonances in the inhomogeneous transition region between topologically trivial and nontrivial domains. Despite such damping, backscattering remains suppressed owing to topological protection. More complex magnetic field geometries, such as helically-winding field lines, will also be discussed.
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