Abstract:
Using the approach based on analyzing variations in the configuration in the direction of the decreasing Gibbs potential, the magnetization curve for a three-dimensional ordered Josephson medium upon magnetic field cycling has been calculated for the case of a small pinning parameter. It has been demonstrated that, at any turning point, the hysteresis loop is part of some universal curve that is strictly periodic along both axes. The existence of a universal curve and its periodicity have been explained by analyzing the vortex configurations.