Excited states of $^{133}$La have been investigated to search for the wobbling excitation mode in the low-spin regime. Wobbling bands with $n_omega$ = 0 and 1 are identified along with the interconnecting $Delta I$ = 1, $E2$ transitions, which are regarded as one of the characteristic features of the wobbling motion. An increase in wobbling frequency with spin implies longitudinal wobbling for $^{133}$La, in contrast with the case of transverse wobbling observed in $^{135}$Pr. This is the first observation of a longitudinal wobbling band in nuclei. The experimental observations are accounted for by calculations using the quasiparticle-triaxial-rotor (QTR) model, which attribute the appearance of longitudinal wobbling to the early alignment of a $pi=+$ proton pair.
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