  New Ekpyrotic Cosmology is an alternative scenario of the early universe
which relies on a phase of slow contraction before the big bang. We calculate
the 3-point and 4-point correlation functions of primordial density
perturbations and find a generically large non-Gaussian signal, just below the
current sensitivity level of CMB experiments. This is in contrast with
slow-roll inflation, which predicts negligible non-Gaussianity. The model is
also distinguishable from alternative inflationary scenarios that yield large
non-Gaussianity, such as DBI inflation and the simplest curvaton-like models,
through the shape dependence of the correlation functions. Non-Gaussianity
therefore provides a distinguishing and testable prediction of New Ekpyrotic
Cosmology.
