  We analyze in this article the magneto-resistance ratio of finite and
infinite iridium and platinum chains. Our calculations, that are based on a
combination of non equilibrium Green function techniques and density functional
theory, include a fully self-consistent treatment of non-collinear magnetism
and of the spin-orbit interaction. They indicate that, in addition to having an
extremely large magnetic anisotropy that may overcome the super-paramagnetic
limit, infinite and also realistic finite-length iridium chains show sizeable
anisotropic magnetoresistance ratios. We therefore propose iridium
nanostructures as promising candidates for nanospintronics logic devices.
