  We investigate the twisted state of an atom and the possible effect of such a
state on the properties of the photons emitted as a result of an electron
transition in that atom. We first propose a framework for describing the
twisted atomic state, and then explore possible differences in the nuclear
recoil effects in the twisted atom compared to those in the plane-wave atom. We
conclude that if the initial atomic state is twisted, then the photon
distribution is altered. We point out that in a certain observation scheme, one
can detect a feature of this twist in the distribution of the emitted photons,
even in zero order in $m/M$.
