Non-asymptotic Heisenberg scaling: experimental metrology for a wide resources range

Abstract: Adopting quantum resources for parameter estimation discloses the possibility to realize quantum sensors operating at a sensitivity beyond the standard quantum limit. Such approach promises to reach the fundamental Heisenberg scaling as a function of the employed resources $N$ in the estimation process. Although previous experiments demonstrated precision scaling approaching Heisenberg-limited performances, reaching such regime for a wide range of $N$ remains hard to accomplish. Here, we show a method which suitably allocates the available resources reaching Heisenberg scaling without any prior information on the parameter. We demonstrate experimentally such an advantage in measuring a rotation angle. We quantitatively verify Heisenberg scaling for a considerable range of $N$ by using single-photon states with high-order orbital angular momentum, achieving an error reduction greater than $10$ dB below the standard quantum limit. Such results can be applied to different scenarios, opening the way to the optimization of resources in quantum sensing.