Frequency estimation of real-valued single-tone in colored noise using multiple autocorrelation lags

The problem of frequency estimation of a real-valued sinusoid in colored noise is addressed. A new estimator using higher-order lags of the sample autocorrelation is proposed, and a statistical analysis is provided. Computer simulations are included to validate the theoretical development and to demonstrate that the proposed approach outperforms several existing frequency estimators in terms of estimation accuracy.