Universal transport properties of open microwave cavities with and without time-reversal symmetry

We measure the transmission through asymmetric and reflection-symmetric chaotic microwave cavities in dependence of the number of attached wave guides. Ferrite cylinders are placed inside the cavities to break time-reversal symmetry. The phase-breaking properties of the ferrite and its range of applicability are discussed in detail. Random matrix theory predictions for the distribution of transmission coefficients T and their energy derivative dT/dE are extended to account for absorption. Using the absorption strength as a fitting parameter, we find good agreement between universal transmission fluctuations predicted by theory and the experimental data.