title: Growth of Bose-Einstein condensates from thermal vapor.
abstract: We report on a quantitative study of the growth process of (87)Rb Bose-Einstein condensates. By continuous evaporative cooling we directly control the thermal cloud from which the condensate grows. We compare the experimental data with the results of a theoretical model based on quantum kinetic theory. We find quantitative agreement with theory for the situation of strong cooling, whereas in the weak cooling regime a distinctly different behavior is found in the experiment.
authors.affiliation: Sektion Physik, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Schellingstrasse 4/III, D-80799 Munich, Germany. koehl@iqe.phys.ethz.ch
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Köhl
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Davis
authors.forename: C W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Gardiner
authors.forename: T W
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Hänsch
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Esslinger