  The vortex dynamics in mesoscopic superconducting cylinders with rectangular
cross section under an axially applied magnetic field is investigated in the
multivortex London regime. The rectangles considered range from a square up to
an infinite slab. The flux distribution and total flux carried by a vortex
placed in an arbitrary position of the sample is calculated analytically by
assuming Clem's solution for the vortex core. The Bean-Livingston energy
barrier is also analytically calculated in this framework. A Langevin algorithm
simulates the flux penetration and dynamical evolution of the vortices as the
external field is slowly cycled. The simulated magnetization process is
governed by metastable states. The magnetization curves are hysteretic, with
paramagnetic response in part of the downward branch, and present a series of
peaks corresponding to the entry or expulsion of a single vortex. For elongated
rectangles, the vortices arrange themselves into parallel vortex chains and an
additional modulation of the magnetization, corresponding to creation or
destruction of a vortex chain, comes out.
