  We study the spin-dependent electronic transport through a one-dimensional
ballistic quantum wire in the presence of Rashba spin-orbit interaction. In
particular, we consider the effect of the spin-orbit interaction resulting from
the lateral confinement of the two-dimensional electron gas to the
one-dimensional wire geometry. We generalize a situation suggested earlier [P.
Streda and P. Seba, Phys. Rev. Lett. 90, 256601 (2003)] which allows for
spin-polarized electron transport. As a result of the lateral confinement, the
spin is rotated out of the plane of the two-dimensional system. We furthermore
investigate the spin-dependent transmission and the polarization of an electron
current at a potential barrier. Finally, we construct a lattice model which
shows similar low-energy physics. In the future, this lattice model will allow
us to study how the electron-electron interaction affects the transport
properties of the present setup.
