  The Comment by Wolfgang Ketterle (Ref.[1]) purports to present a viable model
of superradiance in condensates. However, Ref.[1] is not able to explain the
red/blue pump detuning asymmetry that was first observed recently by us
(Ref.[2]). It is clear from our original paper (Ref.[3]) that the
rate-equation-based theories of Ref.[1] are incomplete since they only model
the final growth stage of the process when a red-detuned pump is used. Our
theoretical framework (Ref.[3]), on the other hand, also treats the initial
growth stage of superradiance and is therefore also capable of explaining the
genesis of the red/blue detuning asymmetry (Ref.[2]). This is the key message
of our response, which we frame in terms of reference to the specific points
raised in Ref. [1].
