Universal scaling laws for dynamical-thermal hysteresis

Abstract

Dynamic hysteresis, the rate-dependent lagged response of materials to external fields, underpins applications from energy-efficient transformers to gas storage systems. A fundamental yet unresolved question is how the hysteresis loop area $A$ scales with the field sweep rate $R$. Here, we reveal that a competition between the field sweep and thermal fluctuations governs a universal crossover between two scaling regimes: $A - A_0 \propto R^{1/3}$ for $R < R^*$ and $A - A_0 \propto R^{2/3}$ for $R > R^*$, where $A_0$ is the quasi-static area and the crossover rate $R^* \propto T/T_c$ depends on the temperature $T$ and the material's critical temperature $T_c$. We demonstrate these scaling laws universally across experiments of magnetic materials, simulations of Ising and metal-organic framework models, and analytical solutions of a stochastic Langevin equation. This framework not only resolves the long-standing non-universality of reported scaling exponents but also provides a direct design principle for the application of dynamic hysteresis.