  Electron vortex beams carry well-defined orbital angular momentum (OAM) about
the propagation axis. Such beams are thus characterised by chirality features
which make them potentially useful as probes of magnetic and other chiral
materials. An analysis of the inelastic processes in which electron vortex
beams interact with atoms and which involve OAM exchange is outlined, leading
to the multipolar selection rules governing this chiral specific electron
vortex beam spectroscopy. Our results show clearly that the selection rules are
dependent on the dynamical state and location of the atoms involved. In the
most favorable scenario, this form of electron spectroscopy can induce magnetic
sublevel transitions which are commonly probed using circularly polarized
photon beams.
