Exploring the Kibble-Zurek mechanism with homogeneous Bose gases

Out-of-equilibrium phenomena are a subject of considerable interest in many fields of physics. Ultracold quantum gases, which are extremely clean, well-isolated and highly controllable systems, offer ideal platforms to investigate this topic. The recent progress in tailoring trapping potentials now allows the experimental production of homogeneous samples in custom geometries, which is a key advance for studies of the emergence of coherence in interacting quantum systems. Here we review recent experiments in which temperature quenches have been performed across the Bose-Einstein condensation phase transition in an annular geometry and in homogeneous 3D and quasi-2D gases. Combined, these experiments comprehensively explore and validate the Kibble-Zurek (KZ) scenario through complementary measurements of correlation functions and density of topological defects. They allow the measurement of KZ scaling laws, the direct confirmation of the 'freeze-out' hypothesis that underlies the KZ theory, and the extraction of critical exponents of the Bose-Einstein condensation transition.