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Hysteretic jumps in the response of layered superconductors to electromagnetic fields

We consider here a layered superconductor subject to an externally applied moderately-strong electromagnetic field. We predict hysteretic jumps in the dependence of the surface reactance of the superconductor on the amplitude of the incident electromagnetic wave. This very unusual nonlinear phenomenon can be observed in thin superconducting slabs at not very strong ac amplitudes, if the frequency of the irradiating field is close to the Josephson plasma frequency. Using the set of coupled sine-Gordon equations, we derive the expression for the phase shift of the reflected wave and obtain the conditions for the appearance of hysteresis.