Electron transport and current fluctuations in short coherent conductors

Employing a real time effective action formalism we analyze electron transport and current fluctuations in comparatively short coherent conductors in the presence of electron-electron interactions. We demonstrate that, while Coulomb interaction tends to suppress electron transport, it may {\it strongly enhance} shot noise in scatterers with highly transparent conducting channels. This effect of excess noise is governed by the Coulomb gap observed in the current-voltage characteristics of such scatterers. We also analyze the frequency dispersion of higher current cumulants and emphasize a direct relation between electron-electron interaction effects and current fluctuations in disordered mesoscopic conductors.