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Measurements of the temperature-dependent ac magnetic susceptibility of
superconducting films reveal reversible responses, i.e., irrespective of the
magnetic and thermal history of the sample. This experimental fact is observed
even in the presence of stochastic and certainly irreversible magnetic flux
avalanches which, in principle, should randomly affect the results. In this
work, we explain such an apparent contradiction by exploring the spatial
resolution of magneto-optical imaging. To achieve this, we successfully compare
standard frequency-independent first harmonic ac magnetic susceptibility
results for a superconducting thin film with those obtained by ac-emulating
magneto-optical imaging (acMOI). A quantitative analysis also provides
information regarding flux avalanches, reveals the presence of a
vortex-antivortex annihilation zone in the region in which a smooth flux front
interacts with pre-established avalanches, and demonstrates that the major
impact on the flux distribution within the superconductor happens during the
first ac cycle. Our results establish acMOI as a reliable approach for studying
frequency-independent ac field effects in superconducting thin films while
capturing local aspects of flux dynamics, otherwise inaccessible via global
magnetometry techniques.
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