  We study the influence of many-body interactions on the transport
characteristics of a novel device structure, consisting of a pair of quantum
wires that are coupled to each other by means of a quantum dot. Under
conditions where a local magnetic moment is formed in one of the wires, we show
that tunnel coupling to the other gives rise to an associated peak in its
density of states, which can be detected directly in a conductance measurement.
Our theory is therefore able to account for the key observations in the recent
study of T. Morimoto et al. [Appl. Phys. Lett. {\bf 82}, 3952 (2003)], and
demonstrates that coupled quantum wires may be used as a system for the
detection of local magnetic-moment formation.
