  We report on the influence of spin-orbit coupling (SOC) in the Fe-based
superconductors (FeSCs) via application of circularly-polarized spin and
angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. We combine this technique in
representative members of both the Fe-pnictides and Fe-chalcogenides with ab
initio density functional theory and tight-binding calculations to establish an
ubiquitous modification of the electronic structure in these materials imbued
by SOC. The influence of SOC is found to be concentrated on the hole pockets
where the superconducting gap is generally found to be largest. This result
contests descriptions of superconductivity in these materials in terms of pure
spin-singlet eigenstates, raising questions regarding the possible pairing
mechanisms and role of SOC therein.
