Spontaneous spin polarization in quantum point contacts

We use spatial spin separation by a magnetic focusing technique to probe the polarization of quantum point contacts. The point contacts are fabricated from p-type GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructures. A finite polarization is measured in the low-density regime, when the conductance of a point contact is tuned to < 2e(2)/h. Polarization is stronger in samples with a well-defined 0.7 structure.