We propose vortex nucleon scattering as an angular-momentum-resolved probe of nucleon-nucleon partial waves. Using the standard $LSJ$ partial-wave $S$ matrix as input, we show that an on-axis vortex incident state with a fixed orbital angular-momentum projection $m_L=\ell$ imposes the direct selection rule $L\ge \left|\ell \right|$ on the initial nucleon-nucleon partial waves. As a result, the entrance $S$-wave component is excluded for $\ell =1$, while both the initial $S$ and $P$ waves are excluded for $\ell =2$. The underlying phase shifts are not modified. Instead, the vortex external state changes how the ordinary partial waves are projected into the scattering amplitude. We further analyze off-axis scattering, where the displacement of the target from the vortex axis introduces Bessel-function weights and partially relaxes the on-axis selection rule. These results suggest that vortex nucleons can provide a new experimental handle on the partial-wave content of the strong nucleon-nucleon interaction.

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• Few-body systems
• Models & methods for nuclear reactions
• Nucleon-nucleon interactions