Reconstructing the shape of the correlation function

We develop an estimator for the correlation function which, in the ensemble average, returns the shape of the correlation function, even for signals that have significant correlations on the scale of the survey region. Our estimator is general and works in any number of dimensions. We develop versions of the estimator for both diffuse and discrete signals. As an application, we apply them to Monte Carlo simulations of X-ray background measurements. These include a realistic, spatially inhomogeneous population of spurious detector events. We discuss applying the estimator to the averaging of correlation functions evaluated on several small fields, and to other cosmological applications.