Onset of reptations and critical hysteretic behavior in disordered systems

Zero-temperature random coercivity Ising model with antiferromagnetic-like interactions is used to study closure of minor hysteresis loops and wiping-out property (Return Point Memory) in hysteretic behavior. Numerical simulations in two dimensions as well as mean-field modeling show a critical phenomenon in the hysteretic behavior associated with the loss of minor loop closure and the onset of reptations. Power law scaling of the extent of minor loop reptations is observed.