As scientists have explored the structure and properties of matter at ever deeper levels they’ve discovered many exotic new materials, including superconductors that carry electric current with no resistance, liquid crystals that align to produce brilliant dynamic displays, and materials exhibiting various forms of magnetism. Yet some exotic forms of matter exist only in theory, predicted by scientists based on what they’ve learned at these deeper levels. Now a pair of physicists provides a theoretical roadmap that could point to the discovery of one such exotic magnetically ordered state, dubbed a “chiral spin liquid.”