  We study how topological defects manifest themselves in the equal-time
two-point field correlator. We consider a scalar field with Z_2 symmetry in 1,
2 and 3 spatial dimensions, allowing for kinks, domain lines and domain walls,
respectively. Using numerical lattice simulations, we find that in any number
of dimensions, the correlator in momentum space is to a very good approximation
the product of two factors, one describing the spatial distribution of the
defects and the other describing the defect shape. When the defects are
produced by the Kibble mechanism, the former has a universal form as a function
of k/n, which we determine numerically. This signature makes it possible to
determine the kink density from the field correlator without having to resort
to the Gaussian approximation. This is essential when studying field dynamics
with methods relying only on correlators (Schwinger-Dyson, 2PI).
