The scattering of Rb atoms on an antirelaxation coating was studied. No significant change in the spin relaxation probability of Rb atoms by single scattering from a tetracontane surface was observed by cooling the film from 305 to 123 K. The mean surface dwell time was estimated using a time-resolved method. Delay-time spectra, from which mean surface dwell times can be estimated, were measured at 305, 153, and 123 K, with a time window of $9.3\times {10}^{-5}$ s. The increase in mean surface dwell time with cooling from 305 to 123 K was smaller than $4.4\times {10}^{-6}$ s, which is significantly smaller than the value expected from the mean dwell time at room temperature measured using the Larmor frequency shift. These results can be explained by assuming a small number of scattering components, with a mean surface dwell time at least three orders of magnitude longer than the majority component.

• Received 11 August 2021
• Revised 29 October 2021
• Accepted 22 November 2021
• Corrected 22 December 2021

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.104.063106