Dependence of a system's observed state on the path by which its control parameters were reached. In a first-order phase transition, a metastable local minimum may persist after another phase becomes globally stable, so increasing and decreasing the control parameter give different switching points. Nucleation and sweep rate determine actual switching; a mean-field spinodal point is a local-stability limit, not the equilibrium phase coexistence condition.
Hysteresis is a phenomenon where the response of a system depends on its past states. It is commonly observed in various fields such as physics, engineering, and economics. In simple terms, hysteresis describes a situation where the effect of a certain influence (like force, temperature, or magnetism) on a system depends not only on the current value of that influence but also on the history of how that influence has changed over time.
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