  We have used gated GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructures to explore nonlinear
transport between spin-resolved Landau level (LL) edge states over a submicron
region of two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG). The current I flowing from one
edge state to the other as a function of the voltage V between them shows
diode-like behavior---a rapid increase in I above a well-defined threshold V_t
under forward bias, and a slower increase in I under reverse bias. In these
measurements, a pronounced influence of a current-induced nuclear spin
polarization on the spin splitting is observed, and supported by a series of
NMR experiments. We conclude that the hyperfine interaction plays an important
role in determining the electronic properties at the edge of a 2DEG.

Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics