We investigate the properties of a hybrid single-electron transistor, involving a small superconducting island sandwiched between normal metal leads, which is driven by dc plus ac voltages. In order to describe its properties we derive from the microscopic theory a set of coupled equations. They consist of a master equation for the probability to find excess charges on the island, with rates depending on the distribution of nonequilibrium quasiparticles. Their dynamics follows from a kinetic equation which accounts for the excitation by single-electron tunneling as well as the relaxation and eventual recombination due to the interaction with phonons. Our low-temperature results compare well with recent experimental findings obtained for ac-driven hybrid single-electron turnstiles.
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