  Zero length quantum wires (or point contacts) exhibit unexplained conductance
structure close to 0.7 X 2e^2/h in the absence of an applied magnetic field. We
have studied the density- and temperature-dependent conductance of
ultra-low-disorder GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wires with nominal lengths l=0 and 2 mu
m, fabricated from structures free of the disorder associated with modulation
doping. In a direct comparison we observe structure near 0.7 X 2e^2/h for l=0
whereas the l=2 mu m wires show structure evolving with increasing electron
density to 0.5 X 2e^2/h in zero magnetic field, the value expected for an ideal
spin-split sub-band. Our results suggest the dominant mechanism through which
electrons interact can be strongly affected by the length of the 1D region.
