  The formation process of a Bose-Einstein condensate in a trap is described
using a master equation based on quantum kinetic theory, which can be well
approximated by a description using only the condensate mode in interaction
with a thermalized bath of noncondensate atoms. A rate equation of the form n =
2W(n)[(1-exp((mu_n - mu)/kT))n + 1] is derived, in which the difference between
the condensate chemical potential mu_n and the bath chemical potential mu gives
the essential behavior. Solutions of this equation, in conjunction with the
theoretical description of the process of evaporative cooling, give a
characteristic latency period for condensate formation and appear to be
consistent with the observed behavior of both rubidium and sodium condensate
formation.
