  We explore the dynamics of assisted quintessence, where more than one scalar
field is present with the same potential. For potentials with tracking
solutions, the fields naturally approach the same values; in the context of
inflation this leads to the assisted inflation phenomenon where several fields
can cooperate to drive a period of inflation though none is able to
individually. For exponential potentials, we study the fixed points and their
stability confirming results already in the literature, and then carry out a
numerical analysis to show how assisted quintessence is realized. For inverse
power-law potentials, we find by contrast that there is no assisted behaviour;
indeed those are the unique (monotonic) potentials where several fields
together behave just as a single field in the same potential. More generally,
we provide an algorithm for generating a single-field potential giving
equivalent dynamics to multi-field assisted quintessence.
