Finite-time and Finite-size scalings of coercivity in dynamic hysteresis
Pith reviewed 2026-05-22 00:45 UTC · model grok-4.3
The pith
The coercivity in dynamic hysteresis exhibits a plateau at a characteristic driving rate that separates distinct scaling regimes inaccessible in the thermodynamic limit.
A machine-rendered reading of the paper's core claim, the machinery that carries it, and where it could break.
Core claim
For the stochastic φ⁴ model, the coercivity landscape H_c(v_H) exhibits plateau features at a characteristic rate v_P with the corresponding coercivity H_P. Below this plateau (v_H < v_P), the H_c ~ v_H scaling obtained in the near-equilibrium regime becomes inaccessible in the thermodynamic limit. Above the plateau (v_H > v_P), scaling in the fast-driving regime, H_c ~ v_H^{1/2}, is completely different from that, H_c - H_P ~ (v_H - v_P)^{2/3}, in the post-plateau slow-driving regime. The emergence of the plateau with a finite-size scaling reflects the competition between the thermodynamic limit and the quasi-static limit. Finite-time coercivity scaling shows model-specific behavior only in
What carries the argument
The coercivity landscape H_c(v_H) featuring a plateau at characteristic rate v_P due to competition between thermodynamic and quasi-static limits
If this is right
- In the thermodynamic limit, the near-equilibrium linear scaling for coercivity becomes inaccessible.
- The fast-driving regime universally follows square-root scaling with driving rate.
- The post-plateau slow-driving regime follows a two-thirds power law scaling relative to the plateau values.
- In concrete systems like the Curie-Weiss model, coercivity scaling is universal except in the fast-driving regime where it is model-specific.
Where Pith is reading between the lines
- This framework could guide experiments on magnetic materials to identify the plateau rate to access different scaling behaviors.
- Similar plateau phenomena might appear in other periodically driven systems exhibiting hysteresis, such as in ferroelectric or mechanical systems.
- Finite-size scaling analysis around the plateau could provide a method to extrapolate coercivity behavior to infinite system sizes.
Load-bearing premise
The stochastic φ⁴ model under periodic driving of rate v_H accurately represents the essential dynamics of the interacting systems studied.
What would settle it
Numerical simulations or experiments showing the absence of a plateau in H_c(v_H) or the presence of the linear scaling in the thermodynamic limit for slow driving rates would falsify the central claim.
Figures
read the original abstract
The coercivity panorama for characterizing the dynamic hysteresis in interacting systems across multiple timescales is proposed by Chen et al. in a companion paper. For the stochastic $\phi^4$ model under periodic driving of rate $v_H$, the coercivity landscape $H_c(v_H)$ exhibits plateau features at a characteristic rate $v_P$ with the corresponding coercivity $H_P$. Below this plateau ($v_H<v_P$), the $H_c\sim v_H$ scaling obtained in the near-equilibrium regime becomes inaccessible in the thermodynamic limit. Above the plateau ($v_H>v_P$), scaling in the fast-driving regime, $H_c\sim v_H^{1/2}$, is completely different from that, $H_c-H_P\sim (v_H-v_P)^{2/3}$, in the post-plateau slow-driving regime. The emergence of the plateau with a finite-size scaling reflects the competition between the thermodynamic limit and the quasi-static limit. In this paper, we provide detailed analytical proofs and numerical evidence supporting these results. Moreover, to demonstrate the coercivity panorama in concrete physical systems, we study the magnetic hysteresis in the Curie-Weiss model and analyze its finite-size effects. We reveal that finite-time coercivity scaling shows model-specific behavior only in the fast-driving regime, while exhibiting universal characteristics elsewhere.
Editorial analysis
A structured set of objections, weighed in public.
Referee Report
Summary. The paper examines finite-time and finite-size scalings of coercivity in dynamic hysteresis for the stochastic φ⁴ model under periodic driving of rate v_H. It claims that the coercivity landscape H_c(v_H) features a plateau at a characteristic rate v_P with corresponding coercivity H_P. Below the plateau (v_H < v_P), the near-equilibrium scaling H_c ∼ v_H becomes inaccessible in the thermodynamic limit. Above the plateau, the fast-driving regime yields H_c ∼ v_H^{1/2}, while the post-plateau slow-driving regime follows H_c − H_P ∼ (v_H − v_P)^{2/3}. Detailed analytical proofs and numerical evidence are provided for these scalings, which arise from competition between thermodynamic and quasi-static limits. The work also analyzes the Curie-Weiss model to illustrate finite-size effects, finding model-specific behavior only in the fast-driving regime and universal characteristics elsewhere.
Significance. If the results hold, the manuscript strengthens the coercivity panorama framework by supplying explicit analytical derivations and numerical support for regime-dependent scalings, including the plateau's finite-size scaling. The demonstration of universal vs. model-specific behaviors across regimes in the Curie-Weiss model adds concrete physical insight. Credit is due for the parameter-free scaling relations and the focus on ordering of limits (thermodynamic vs. quasi-static), which addresses a key aspect of dynamic hysteresis in interacting systems.
major comments (2)
- [finite-size scaling section] Finite-size scaling analysis of v_P (near the discussion of thermodynamic limit and Eq. defining v_P(N)): the inaccessibility of the H_c ∼ v_H regime for v_H < v_P as N → ∞ requires explicit demonstration that v_P(N) remains finite or approaches a positive constant; if v_P(N) ∼ N^{-α} with α > 0, then for any fixed v_H > 0 the system enters the post-plateau regime at large N and the linear scaling is recovered. The current analysis does not independently verify this limiting behavior.
- [analytical proofs section] § on analytical proofs for post-plateau scaling: the derivation of H_c − H_P ∼ (v_H − v_P)^{2/3} assumes a specific ordering of limits that should be cross-checked against the numerical data for consistency in the slow-driving regime above v_P.
minor comments (2)
- [introduction] Clarify the notation for the driving rate v_H versus the characteristic rate v_P in the introduction and abstract to avoid potential confusion with the companion paper.
- [figures] Figure captions for the coercivity landscape plots should explicitly label the plateau region and the different scaling regimes for easier cross-reference with the text.
Simulated Author's Rebuttal
We thank the referee for the careful and constructive review of our manuscript. The comments highlight important points regarding the finite-size behavior of v_P and the consistency of the post-plateau scaling derivation with numerics. We address each major comment below and have revised the manuscript to incorporate additional verification and discussion.
read point-by-point responses
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Referee: [finite-size scaling section] Finite-size scaling analysis of v_P (near the discussion of thermodynamic limit and Eq. defining v_P(N)): the inaccessibility of the H_c ∼ v_H regime for v_H < v_P as N → ∞ requires explicit demonstration that v_P(N) remains finite or approaches a positive constant; if v_P(N) ∼ N^{-α} with α > 0, then for any fixed v_H > 0 the system enters the post-plateau regime at large N and the linear scaling is recovered. The current analysis does not independently verify this limiting behavior.
Authors: We agree that an explicit demonstration of the limiting behavior of v_P(N) is required to rigorously establish the inaccessibility of the linear regime in the thermodynamic limit. In the revised manuscript we have added new numerical data for v_P(N) across a wider range of system sizes. These results show that v_P(N) approaches a positive finite constant as N increases, rather than vanishing as a power law. This is now presented in an extended figure with accompanying text that directly addresses the ordering of limits and confirms that the H_c ∼ v_H scaling remains inaccessible for fixed v_H below the plateau in the large-N limit. revision: yes
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Referee: [analytical proofs section] § on analytical proofs for post-plateau scaling: the derivation of H_c − H_P ∼ (v_H − v_P)^{2/3} assumes a specific ordering of limits that should be cross-checked against the numerical data for consistency in the slow-driving regime above v_P.
Authors: We thank the referee for pointing out the need to cross-check the assumed ordering of limits against the numerical evidence. The analytical derivation is performed with the thermodynamic limit taken before the quasi-static limit, which is the ordering that produces the plateau. In the revision we have added a short subsection that re-examines the numerical data specifically in the slow-driving regime immediately above v_P. The effective exponent extracted from the data approaches 2/3 as v_H approaches v_P from above, consistent with the analytical prediction under the stated limit ordering. This consistency check has been included together with a clarifying remark on the relevant ordering of limits. revision: yes
Circularity Check
Self-citation to companion paper frames the coercivity panorama and plateau features
specific steps
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self citation load bearing
[Abstract]
"The coercivity panorama for characterizing the dynamic hysteresis in interacting systems across multiple timescales is proposed by Chen et al. in a companion paper. For the stochastic φ⁴ model under periodic driving of rate v_H, the coercivity landscape H_c(v_H) exhibits plateau features at a characteristic rate v_P with the corresponding coercivity H_P. Below this plateau (v_H < v_P), the H_c ~ v_H scaling obtained in the near-equilibrium regime becomes inaccessible in the thermodynamic limit."
The load-bearing premise—the existence and properties of the plateau at v_P together with the claimed inaccessibility of the near-equilibrium scaling once the thermodynamic limit is taken—is introduced solely by citation to a companion paper whose authors overlap with the present work. The subsequent analytical proofs and numerics support scalings conditional on that framing rather than deriving the panorama independently.
full rationale
The manuscript explicitly attributes the coercivity panorama, including the plateau at characteristic rate v_P with coercivity H_P, to a companion paper by overlapping authors (Chen et al.). This paper then supplies analytical proofs and numerical evidence for the scalings in the stochastic φ⁴ model and demonstrates the panorama in the Curie-Weiss model. The central claims about inaccessibility of H_c ~ v_H for v_H < v_P in the N→∞ limit therefore inherit their framing from the self-citation, yet retain independent content via the finite-size scaling analysis and model-specific comparisons. This matches a moderate self-citation load-bearing pattern without reducing the entire derivation to a fit or definition by construction.
Axiom & Free-Parameter Ledger
axioms (1)
- domain assumption The stochastic φ⁴ model under periodic driving of rate v_H captures the essential dynamics of interacting systems for the purpose of coercivity scaling.
Lean theorems connected to this paper
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IndisputableMonolith/Cost/FunctionalEquation.leanwashburn_uniqueness_aczel unclear?
unclearRelation between the paper passage and the cited Recognition theorem.
Hc ∼ vH in the near-equilibrium regime... Hc ∼ vH^{1/2} in fast-driving regime... Hc − HP ∼ (vH − vP)^{2/3} in the post-plateau slow-driving regime... finite-size scaling via renormalization-group theory
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IndisputableMonolith/Foundation/AlexanderDuality.leanalexander_duality_circle_linking unclear?
unclearRelation between the paper passage and the cited Recognition theorem.
scaling dimensions... [h] = 4/3, [φ] = 2/3, [vH] = 2... H∗ − HP ∼ σ^{4/3} at vP ∼ σ²
What do these tags mean?
- matches
- The paper's claim is directly supported by a theorem in the formal canon.
- supports
- The theorem supports part of the paper's argument, but the paper may add assumptions or extra steps.
- extends
- The paper goes beyond the formal theorem; the theorem is a base layer rather than the whole result.
- uses
- The paper appears to rely on the theorem as machinery.
- contradicts
- The paper's claim conflicts with a theorem or certificate in the canon.
- unclear
- Pith found a possible connection, but the passage is too broad, indirect, or ambiguous to say the theorem truly supports the claim.
Forward citations
Cited by 1 Pith paper
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Coercivity Landscape Characterizes Dynamic Hysteresis
In the stochastic φ⁴ model, coercivity exhibits v_H scaling, a plateau at the first-order transition field H*, then v_H^{1/2} scaling, with finite-size scalings v_P ~ σ² and (H* - H_P) ~ σ^{4/3} from renormalization-g...
Reference graph
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Hc − H ∗ ∼ v2/3 H During the dynamic process described by Eq. (44) for infinite-size system, the system evolves along trajectories that may adhere to local equilibrium in either metastable or globally stable states, until a sudden transition oc- curs into a distinct state. This transition, contingent on the system’s history, exemplifies a finite-time firs...
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[2]
To describe this behavior, we expand the deterministic dynamical equa- tion Eq
Hc ∼ v1/3 H While the potential landscape transitions from bistable to monostable at t∗, finite-rate driving induces dynamical lag: the system delays switching to the global minimum by ˆtdel, defined by m(t∗ + ˆtdel) = m∗. To describe this behavior, we expand the deterministic dynamical equa- tion Eq. (44) around the critical point ( m∗, H∗), leading to t...
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[3]
Hc ∼ W (vH) In the fast-driving regime, the system’s dynamics is dominated by the passive relaxation to mono-stable state under strong field, considering that the field increases so fast that the system seems to be frozen before the free energy landscape becomes mono-stable. In the strong- field limit where |H| ≫ | J m|, the interaction term J m becomes n...
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discussion (0)
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