Geometrical edge barriers and magnetization in superconducting strips with slits

We theoretically investigate the magnetic-field and current distributions for coplanar superconducting strips with slits in an applied magnetic field Hₐ. We consider ideal strips with no bulk pinning and calculate the hysteretic behavior of the magnetic moment my as a function of Hₐ due solely to geometrical edge barriers. We find that the my-Hₐ curves are strongly affected by the slits. In an ascending field, the my-Hₐ curves exhibit kink or peak structures, because the slits prevent penetration of magnetic flux. In a descending field, my becomes positive, because magnetic flux is trapped in the slits, in contrast to the behavior of a single strip without slits, for which my≈0.