Sympathetic cooling and growth of a Bose-Einstein condensate

We study two sets of rate equations for sympathetic cooling of harmonically trapped Bose gases. Calculations for mixtures of Na-Rb and Li-Cs show that both sets yield similar results for the cooling times. The equilibration rates are in fair agreement with each other and differ considerably from classical rates. The onset of Bose-Einstein condensation is rather sudden and non-exponential in time, and the growth of the condensate differs for the two different mixtures we studied.