Nuclear spin polarization is typically generated in GaAs quantum point contacts ͑QPCs͒ when an out-ofplane magnetic field gives rise to spin-polarized quantum-Hall edge states and a voltage bias drives transitions between the edge states via electron-nuclear flip-flop scattering. Here, we report a similar effect for QPCs in an in-plane magnetic field, where currents are spin polarized but edge states are not formed. The nuclear polarization gives rise to hysteresis in the dc transport characteristics with relaxation time scales around 100 s. The dependence of anomalous QPC conductance features on nuclear polarization provides a useful test of their spin sensitivity.QPCs are the simplest of all semiconductor nanostructures: short one-dimensional ͑1D͒ constrictions between regions of two-dimensional electron gas ͑2DEG͒ with conductance quantized in units of G =2e 2 / h at zero magnetic field and low temperature ͑the factor of 2 comes from spin degen-eracy͒ or 1e 2 / h at high magnetic field when spin degeneracy is broken. 1,2 Despite their apparent simplicity, the spin physics of QPCs has inspired a great deal of debate in the last ten years ever since it was pointed out that their lowconductance transport characteristics ͑G Ͻ 2e 2 / h͒ deviate from a simple noninteracting picture. [3][4][5] One of these anomalous characteristics is a zero-bias conductance peak ͑ZBP͒ observed for G Ͻ 2e 2 / h at low temperature. As the applied magnetic field is increased, some ZBPs collapse without splitting while others split into two peaks by 2g B B, with Landé g factor ranging from much less than the bulk value in GaAs, g = 0.44, to much greater than 0.44. 6-8 The complicated field dependence of ZBPs has given rise to controversial explanations, ranging from Kondo physics 6,9 to a nonspin-related phenomenological model. 8 Despite extensive experimental and theoretical work to understand the electron spin physics of QPCs below the 2e 2 / h plateau, the effects of nuclear spin on QPC conductance have only been studied deep in the quantum-Hall regime, where many of the conductance anomalies disappear. 10,11 Over the last decade, however, it has become increasingly clear that understanding the electron spin physics of semiconductor nanostructures requires a careful consideration of the influence of nuclear spin via the hyperfine interaction. 12,13 This is especially true for nanostructures defined in GaAs and other III-V materials, where large atomic masses lead to a large electron-nuclear coupling constant through the Fermi contact interaction. 14 The hyperfine interaction gives rise to an effective magnetic field acting on electron spin that is proportional to the local nuclear-spin polarization. Significant nuclear polarizations can be built up, also via the hyperfine interaction, when a nonequilibrium population of electron spins relaxes, flipping nuclear spins to conserve angular momentum: a process known as dynamic nuclear polarization ͑DNP͒. 15 For example, a large dc bias applied between spin-polarized edge states in the qua...