ASKAP Research Articles

Mysterious odd radio circle near the large magellanic cloud – an intergalactic supernova remnant?

ABSTRACT We report the discovery of J0624–6948, a low-surface brightness radio ring, lying between the Galactic Plane and the large magellanic cloud (LMC). It was first detected at 888 MHz with the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP), and with a diameter of ∼196 arcsec. This source has phenomenological similarities to odd radio circles (ORCs). Significant differences to the known ORCs – a flatter radio spectral index, the lack of a prominent central galaxy as a possible host, and larger apparent size – suggest that J0624–6948 may be a different type of object. We argue that the most plausible explanation for J0624–6948 is an intergalactic supernova remnant due to a star that resided in the LMC outskirts that had undergone a single-degenerate type Ia supernova, and we are seeing its remnant expand into a rarefied, intergalactic environment. We also examine if a massive star or a white dwarf binary ejected from either galaxy could be the supernova progenitor. Finally, we consider several other hypotheses for the nature of the object, including the jets of an active galactic nucleus (30Dor) or the remnant of a nearby stellar super-flare.

GASKAP-HI pilot survey science I: ASKAP zoom observations of Hi emission in the Small Magellanic Cloud

Abstract We present the most sensitive and detailed view of the neutral hydrogen ( ${\rm H\small I}$ ) emission associated with the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), through the combination of data from the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) and Parkes (Murriyang), as part of the Galactic Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (GASKAP) pilot survey. These GASKAP-HI pilot observations, for the first time, reveal ${\rm H\small I}$ in the SMC on similar physical scales as other important tracers of the interstellar medium, such as molecular gas and dust. The resultant image cube possesses an rms noise level of 1.1 K ( $1.6\,\mathrm{mJy\ beam}^{-1}$ ) $\mathrm{per}\ 0.98\,\mathrm{km\ s}^{-1}$ spectral channel with an angular resolution of $30^{\prime\prime}$ ( ${\sim}10\,\mathrm{pc}$ ). We discuss the calibration scheme and the custom imaging pipeline that utilises a joint deconvolution approach, efficiently distributed across a computing cluster, to accurately recover the emission extending across the entire ${\sim}25\,\mathrm{deg}^2$ field-of-view. We provide an overview of the data products and characterise several aspects including the noise properties as a function of angular resolution and the represented spatial scales by deriving the global transfer function over the full spectral range. A preliminary spatial power spectrum analysis on individual spectral channels reveals that the power law nature of the density distribution extends down to scales of 10 pc. We highlight the scientific potential of these data by comparing the properties of an outflowing high-velocity cloud with previous ASKAP+Parkes ${\rm H\small I}$ test observations.

Discovery of peculiar radio morphologies with ASKAP using unsupervised machine learning

Abstract We present a set of peculiar radio sources detected using an unsupervised machine learning method. We use data from the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) telescope to train a self-organizing map (SOM). The radio maps from three ASKAP surveys, Evolutionary Map of Universe pilot survey (EMU-PS), Deep Investigation of Neutral Gas Origins pilot survey (DINGO), and Survey With ASKAP of GAMA-09 + X-ray (SWAG-X), are used to search for the rarest or unknown radio morphologies. We use an extension of the SOM algorithm that implements rotation and flipping invariance on astronomical sources. The SOM is trained using the images of all ‘complex’ radio sources in the EMU-PS which we define as all sources catalogued as ‘multi-component’. The trained SOM is then used to estimate a similarity score for complex sources in all surveys. We select 0.5% of the sources that are most complex according to the similarity metric and visually examine them to find the rarest radio morphologies. Among these, we find two new odd radio circle (ORC) candidates and five other peculiar morphologies. We discuss multiwavelength properties and the optical/infrared counterparts of selected peculiar sources. In addition, we present examples of conventional radio morphologies including: diffuse emission from galaxy clusters, and resolved, bent-tailed, and FR-I and FR-II type radio galaxies. We discuss the overdense environment that may be the reason behind the circular shape of ORC candidates.

The First Large Absorption Survey in H i (FLASH): I. Science goals and survey design

Abstract We describe the scientific goals and survey design of the First Large Absorption Survey in H i (FLASH), a wide field survey for 21-cm line absorption in neutral atomic hydrogen (H i) at intermediate cosmological redshifts. FLASH will be carried out with the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) radio telescope and is planned to cover the sky south of $\delta \approx +40\,\deg$ at frequencies between 711.5 and 999.5 MHz. At redshifts between $z = 0.4$ and $1.0$ (look-back times of 4 – 8 Gyr), the H i content of the Universe has been poorly explored due to the difficulty of carrying out radio surveys for faint 21-cm line emission and, at ultra-violet wavelengths, space-borne searches for Damped Lyman- $\alpha$ absorption in quasar spectra. The ASKAP wide field of view and large spectral bandwidth, in combination with a radio-quiet site, will enable a search for absorption lines in the radio spectra of bright continuum sources over 80% of the sky. This survey is expected to detect at least several hundred intervening 21-cm absorbers and will produce an H i-absorption-selected catalogue of galaxies rich in cool, star-forming gas, some of which may be concealed from optical surveys. Likewise, at least several hundred associated 21-cm absorbers are expected to be detected within the host galaxies of radio sources at $0.4 < z < 1.0$ , providing valuable kinematical information for models of gas accretion and jet-driven feedback in radio-loud active galactic nuclei. FLASH will also detect OH 18-cm absorbers in diffuse molecular gas, megamaser OH emission, radio recombination lines, and stacked H i emission.

The EMU view of the Large Magellanic Cloud: troubles for sub-TeV WIMPs

We present a radio search for WIMP dark matter in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC).We make use of a recent deep image of the LMC obtained from observations of the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP), and processed as part of the Evolutionary Map of the Universe (EMU) survey.LMC is an extremely promising target for WIMP searches at radio frequencies because of the large J-factor and the presence of a substantial magnetic field.We detect no evidence for emission arising from WIMP annihilations and derive stringent bounds on the annihilation rate as a function of the WIMP mass, for different annihilation channels. This work excludes the thermal cross section for masses below 480 GeV and annihilation into quarks.

Discovery of ASKAP J173608.2–321635 as a Highly Polarized Transient Point Source with the Australian SKA Pathfinder

Abstract We report the discovery of a highly polarized, highly variable, steep-spectrum radio source, ASKAP J173608.2−321635, located ∼4° from the Galactic Center in the Galactic plane. The source was detected six times between 2020 January and 2020 September as part of the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder Variables and Slow Transients (ASKAP VAST) survey at 888 MHz. It exhibited a high degree (∼25%) of circular polarization when it was visible. We monitored the source with the MeerKAT telescope from 2020 November to 2021 February on a 2–4 week cadence. The source was not detected with MeerKAT before 2021 February 7 when it appeared and reached a peak flux density of 5.6 mJy. The source was still highly circularly polarized, but also showed up to 80% linear polarization, and then faded rapidly with a timescale of one day. The rotation measure of the source varied significantly, from −11.8 ± 0.8 rad m−2 to −64.0 ± 1.5 rad m−2 over three days. No X-ray counterpart was found in follow-up Swift or Chandra observations about a week after the first MeerKAT detection, with upper limits of ∼5.0 × 1031 erg s−1 (0.3–8 keV, assuming a distance ∼10 kpc). No counterpart is seen in new or archival near-infrared observations down to J = 20.8 mag. We discuss possible identifications for ASKAP J173608.2−321635 including a low-mass star/substellar object with extremely low infrared luminosity, a pulsar with scatter-broadened pulses, a transient magnetar, or a Galactic Center radio transient: none of these fully explains the observations, which suggests that ASKAP J173608.2−321635 may represent part of a new class of objects being discovered through radio imaging surveys.

Chronicling the Host Galaxy Properties of the Remarkable Repeating FRB 20201124A

Abstract We present the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder localization and follow-up observations of the host galaxy of the repeating fast radio burst (FRB) source, FRB 20201124A, the fifth such extragalactic repeating FRB with an identified host. From spectroscopic observations using the 6.5 m MMT Observatory, we derive a redshift z = 0.0979 ± 0.0001, a star formation rate inferred from Hα emission SFR(Hα) ≈ 2.1 M ⊙ yr−1, and a gas-phase metallicity of 12+log(O/H) ≈ 9.0. By jointly modeling the 12 filter optical−mid-infrared (MIR) photometry and spectroscopy of the host, we infer a median stellar mass of ∼2 × 1010 M ⊙, internal dust extinction A V ≈ 1–1.5 mag, and a mass-weighted stellar population age of ∼5–6 Gyr. Connecting these data to the radio and X-ray observations, we cannot reconcile the broadband behavior with strong active galactic nucleus activity and instead attribute the dominant source of persistent radio emission to star formation, likely originating from the circumnuclear region of the host. The modeling also indicates a hot dust component contributing to the MIR luminosity at a level of ∼10%–30%. We model the host galaxy’s star formation and mass assembly histories, finding that the host assembled >90% of its mass by 1 Gyr ago and exhibited a fairly constant SFR for most of its existence, with no clear evidence of past starburst activity.

WALLABY pre-pilot survey: two dark clouds in the vicinity of NGC 1395

ABSTRACT We present the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) WALLABY pre-pilot observations of two ‘dark’ H i sources (with H i masses of a few times 108 $\rm {M}_\odot$ and no known stellar counterpart) that reside within 363 kpc of NGC 1395, the most massive early-type galaxy in the Eridanus group of galaxies. We investigate whether these ‘dark’ H i sources have resulted from past tidal interactions or whether they are an extreme class of low surface brightness galaxies. Our results suggest that both scenarios are possible, and not mutually exclusive. The two ‘dark’ H i sources are compact, reside in relative isolation, and are more than 159 kpc away from their nearest H i-rich galaxy neighbour. Regardless of origin, the H i sizes and masses of both ‘dark’ H i sources are consistent with the H i size–mass relationship that is found in nearby low-mass galaxies, supporting the possibility that these H i sources are an extreme class of low surface brightness galaxies. We identified three analogues of candidate primordial ‘dark’ H i galaxies within the TNG100 cosmological, hydrodynamic simulation. All three model analogues are dark matter dominated, have assembled most of their mass 12–13 Gyr ago, and have not experienced much evolution until cluster infall 1–2 Gyr ago. Our WALLABY pre-pilot science results suggest that the upcoming large-area H i surveys will have a significant impact on our understanding of low surface brightness galaxies and the physical processes that shape them.

WALLABY pre-pilot survey: H i content of the Eridanus supergroup

ABSTRACT We present observations of the Eridanus supergroup obtained with the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) as part of the pre-pilot survey for the Widefield ASKAP L-band Legacy All-sky Blind surveY (WALLABY). The total number of detected H i sources is 55, of which 12 are background galaxies not associated with the Eridanus supergroup. Two massive H i clouds are identified and large H i debris fields are seen in the NGC 1359 interacting galaxy pair, and the face-on spiral galaxy NGC 1385. We describe the data products from the source finding algorithm and present the basic parameters. The presence of distorted H i morphology in all detected galaxies suggests ongoing tidal interactions within the subgroups. The Eridanus group has a large fraction of H i-deficient galaxies as compared to previously studied galaxy groups. These H i-deficient galaxies are not found at the centre of the group. We find that galaxies in the Eridanus supergroup do not follow the general trend of the atomic gas fraction versus stellar mass scaling relation, which indicates that the scaling relation changes with environmental density. In general, the majority of these galaxies are actively forming stars.

Future radio continuum cosmology clustering surveys

ABSTRACT The use of continuum emission radio galaxies as cosmological tracers of the large-scale structure will soon move into a new phase. Upcoming surveys from the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP), MeerKAT, and the Square Kilometre Array project (SKA) will survey the entire available sky down to an $\sim 100\, \mu$Jy flux limit, increasing the number of detected extra-galactic radio sources by several orders of magnitude. External data and machine learning algorithms will also enable some low-resolution radial selection (photometric redshift binning) of the sample, increasing the cosmological utility of the sample observed. In this paper, we discuss the flux limit required to detect enough galaxies to decrease the shot-noise term in the error to be 10 per cent of the total. We show how future surveys of this type will be limited by available technology. The confusion generated by the intrinsic sizes of galaxies may have the consequence that surveys of this type eventually reach a hard flux limit of ∼100 nJy, as is predicted by the current modelling of AGN sizes by simulations such as the Tiered Radio Extragalactic Continuum Simulation (T-RECS). Finally, when considering the multitracer approach, where galaxies are split by type to measure some bias ratio, we find that there are not enough AGN present to achieve a reasonable level of shot noise for this kind of measurement.

Sofia 2 – an automated, parallel H i source finding pipeline for the WALLABY survey

ABSTRACT We present sofia 2, the fully automated 3D source finding pipeline for the WALLABY extragalactic H i survey with the Australian SKA Pathfinder (ASKAP). sofia 2 is a reimplementation of parts of the original sofia pipeline in the c programming language and makes use of OpenMP for multithreading of the most time-critical algorithms. In addition, we have developed a parallel framework called sofia-X that allows the processing of large data cubes to be split across multiple computing nodes. As a result of these efforts, sofia 2 is substantially faster and comes with a much reduced memory footprint compared to its predecessor, thus allowing the large WALLABY data volumes of hundreds of gigabytes of imaging data per epoch to be processed in real time. The source code has been made publicly available to the entire community under an open-source licence. Performance tests using mock galaxies injected into genuine ASKAP data suggest that in the absence of significant imaging artefacts sofia 2 is capable of achieving near-100 per cent completeness and reliability above an integrated signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of about 5–6. We also demonstrate that sofia 2 generally recovers the location, integrated flux, and w20 line width of galaxies with high accuracy. Other parameters, including the peak flux density and w50 line width, are more strongly biased due to the influence of the noise on the measurement. In addition, very faint galaxies below an integrated SNR of about 10 may get broken up into multiple components, thus requiring a strategy to identify fragmented sources and ensure that they do not affect the integrity of any scientific analysis based on the sofia 2 output.

WALLABY Pilot Survey: The Diversity of Ram Pressure Stripping of the Galactic H i Gas in the Hydra Cluster

Abstract This study uses H i image data from the Widefield ASKAP L-band Legacy All-sky Blind surveY (WALLABY) pilot survey with the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) telescope, covering the Hydra cluster out to 2.5r 200. We present the projected phase–space distribution of H i-detected galaxies in Hydra, and identify that nearly two-thirds of the galaxies within 1.25 r 200 may be in the early stages of ram pressure stripping. More than half of these may be only weakly stripped, with the ratio of strippable H i (i.e., where the galactic restoring force is lower than the ram pressure in the disk) mass fraction (over total H i mass) distributed uniformly below 90%. Consequently, the H i mass is expected to decrease by only a few 0.1 dex after the currently strippable portion of H i in these systems has been stripped. A more detailed look at the subset of galaxies that are spatially resolved by WALLABY observations shows that, while it typically takes less than 200 Myr for ram pressure stripping to remove the currently strippable portion of H i, it may take more than 600 Myr to significantly change the total H i mass. Our results provide new clues to understanding the different rates of H i depletion and star formation quenching in cluster galaxies.

Multiwavelength view of SPT-CL J2106-5844

Context. SPT-CL J2106-5844 is among the most massive galaxy clusters at z > 1 yet discovered. While initially used in cosmological tests to assess the compatibility with Λ Cold Dark Matter cosmology of such a massive virialized object at this redshift, more recent studies indicate SPT-CL J2106-5844 is undergoing a major merger and is not an isolated system with a singular, well-defined halo. Aims. We use sensitive, high spatial resolution measurements from the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA) and Atacama Compact Array (ACA) of the thermal Sunyaev-Zeldovich (SZ) effect to reconstruct the pressure distribution of the intracluster medium in this system. These measurements are coupled with radio observations from the pilot survey for the Evolutionary Map of the Universe, using the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP), and the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) to search for diffuse nonthermal emission. Further, to better constrain the thermodynamic structure of the cluster, we complement our analysis with reprocessed archival Chandra observations. Methods. We jointly fit the ALMA and ACA SZ data in uv-space using a Bayesian forward modeling technique. The ASKAP and low-frequency ATCA data are processed and imaged to specifically highlight any potential diffuse radio emission. Results. In the ALMA and ACA SZ data, we reliably identify at high significance two main gas components associated with the mass clumps inferred from weak lensing. Our statistical test excludes at the ∼9.9σ level the possibility of describing the system with a single SZ component. While the components had been more difficult to identify in the X-ray data alone, we find that the bimodal gas distribution is supported by the X-ray hardness distribution. The EMU radio observations reveal a diffuse radio structure ∼400 kpc in projected extent along the northwest-southeast direction, indicative of strong activity from the active galactic nucleus within the brightest cluster galaxy. Interestingly, a putative optical star-forming filamentary structure detected in the HST image is in an excellent alignment with the radio structure, albeit on a smaller scale.

A first glimpse at the Galactic plane with the ASKAP: the SCORPIO field

ABSTRACT In the broad context of the Australian Square Kilometer Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) early-science phase and preparation for the related surveys, we report the first radio observations towards the Galactic plane. The targeted field was chosen to encompass the entire SCORPIO survey, one of the several pathfinder projects for the Evolutionary Map of the Universe survey planned with the ASKAP. The observations were carried out in 2018 January at a central frequency of 912 MHz, with 15 operational antennas, and covered a total area of about 40 square degrees in three different pointings. The final image has a resolution of 24.1 × 21.1 arcsec2 and a median rms of $541\ \mu \mathrm{Jy\ beam}^{-1}$. We were able to extract 3545 candidate sources, 75 per cent of them point sources. For a preliminary validation, a comparison with the 843 MHz Molonglo Galactic Plane Survey is presented. Although the present observations were obtained with the ASKAP only partially deployed, its unique capability to map complex sources, such as those inhabiting the Galactic plane, at different angular scales, is highlighted. Within the SCORPIO field all the previously classified H ii regions, Planetary Nebulae (PNe), and supernovae remnants (SNRs), previously known to be radio sources, were detected. We also report new radio detections from several H ii regions previously classified as ‘candidates’ or ‘radio quiet’ and from half of all the PNe in the SCORPIO field with robust classification. Most notably, we find numerous unclassified, extended sources which constitute a promising sample of candidates H ii regions and SNRs.

Discovery of a new extragalactic circular radio source with ASKAP: ORC J0102–2450

ABSTRACT We present the discovery of another odd radio circle (ORC) with the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) at 944 MHz. The observed radio ring, ORC J0102–2450, has a diameter of ∼70 arcsec or 300 kpc, if associated with the central elliptical galaxy DES J010224.33–245039.5 (z ∼ 0.27). Considering the overall radio morphology (circular ring and core) and lack of ring emission at non-radio wavelengths, we investigate if ORC J0102–2450 could be the relic lobe of a giant radio galaxy seen end on or the result of a giant blast wave. We also explore possible interaction scenarios, for example, with the companion galaxy, DES J010226.15–245104.9, located in or projected on to the south-eastern part of the ring. We encourage the search for further ORCs in radio surveys to study their properties and origin.

Discovery of an Extremely Short Duration Flare from Proxima Centauri Using Millimeter through Far-ultraviolet Observations

Abstract We present the discovery of an extreme flaring event from Proxima Cen by the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP), Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), Hubble Space Telescope (HST), Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), and the du Pont Telescope that occurred on 2019 May 1. In the millimeter and FUV, this flare is the brightest ever detected, brightening by a factor of >1000 and >14,000 as seen by ALMA and HST, respectively. The millimeter and FUV continuum emission trace each other closely during the flare, suggesting that millimeter emission could serve as a proxy for FUV emission from stellar flares and become a powerful new tool to constrain the high-energy radiation environment of exoplanets. Surprisingly, optical emission associated with the event peaks at a much lower level with a time delay. The initial burst has an extremely short duration, lasting for <10 s. Taken together with the growing sample of millimeter M dwarf flares, this event suggests that millimeter emission is actually common during stellar flares and often originates from short burst-like events.

Determination of Planetary Nebulae angular diameters from radio continuum spectral energy distribution modelling

ABSTRACT Powerful new, high-resolution, high-sensitivity, multifrequency, wide-field radio surveys such as the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) Evolutionary Map of the Universe are emerging. They will offer fresh opportunities to undertake new determinations of useful parameters for various kinds of extended astrophysical phenomena. Here, we consider specific application to angular-size determinations of Planetary Nebulae (PNe) via a new radio continuum spectral energy distribution fitting technique. We show that robust determinations of angular size can be obtained, comparable to the best optical and radio observations but with the potential for consistent application across the population. This includes unresolved and/or heavily obscured PNe that are extremely faint or even non-detectable in the optical.

A statistical measurement of the H i spin temperature in DLAs at cosmological distances

ABSTRACT Evolution of the cosmic star formation rate (SFR) and molecular gas mass density is expected to be matched by a similarly strong evolution of the fraction of atomic hydrogen (H i) in the cold neutral medium (CNM). We use results from a recent commissioning survey for intervening 21-cm absorbers with the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) to construct a Bayesian statistical model of the NH i-weighted harmonic mean spin temperature (Ts) at redshifts between z = 0.37 and 1.0. We find that Ts ≤ 274 K with 95 per cent probability, suggesting that at these redshifts the typical H i gas in galaxies at equivalent DLA column densities may be colder than the Milky Way interstellar medium (Ts, MW ∼ 300 K). This result is consistent with an evolving CNM fraction that mirrors the molecular gas towards the SFR peak at z ∼ 2. We expect that future surveys for H i 21-cm absorption with the current SKA pathfinder telescopes will provide constraints on the CNM fraction that are an order of magnitude greater than presented here.

Extracting H i astrophysics from interferometric intensity mapping

ABSTRACT We present a new halo model of neutral hydrogen (H i) calibrated to galaxy formation simulations at redshifts z ∼ 0.1 and z ∼ 1.0 that we employ to investigate the constraining power of interferometric H i intensity mapping on H i astrophysics. We demonstrate that constraints on the small-scale H i power spectrum can break the degeneracy between the H i density $\Omega _{\rm H\, \small {I}}$ and the H i bias $b_{\rm H\, \small {I}}$. For z ∼ 0.1, we forecast that an accurate measurement of $\Omega _{\rm H\, \small {I}}$ up to 6 per cent level precision and the large-scale H i bias $b_{\rm H\, \small {I}}^0$ up to 1 per cent level precision can be achieved using Square Kilometre Array (SKA) pathfinder data from MeerKAT and Australian SKA Pathfinder (ASKAP). We also propose a new description of the H i shot noise in the halo model framework in which a scatter of the relation between the H i mass of galaxies and their host halo mass is taken into account. Furthermore, given the number density of H i galaxies above a certain H i mass threshold, future surveys will also be able to constrain the H i mass function using only the H i shot noise. This will lead to constraints at the 10 per cent level using the standard Schechter function. This technique will potentially provide a new way of measuring the H i mass function, independent from existing methods. We predict that the SKA will be able to further improve the low-redshift constraints by a factor of 3, as well as pioneering measurements of H i astrophysics at higher redshifts.

A search for radio afterglows from gamma-ray bursts with the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder

ABSTRACT We present a search for radio afterglows from long gamma-ray bursts using the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP). Our search used the Rapid ASKAP Continuum Survey, covering the entire celestial sphere south of declination +41○, and three epochs of the Variables and Slow Transients Pilot Survey (Phase 1), covering ∼5000 square degrees per epoch. The observations we used from these surveys spanned a nine-month period from 2019 April 21 to 2020 January 11. We cross-matched radio sources found in these surveys with 779 well-localized (to ≤15 arcsec) long gamma-ray bursts occurring after 2004 and determined whether the associations were more likely afterglow- or host-related through the analysis of optical images. In our search, we detected one radio afterglow candidate associated with GRB 171205A, a local low-luminosity gamma-ray burst with a supernova counterpart SN 2017iuk, in an ASKAP observation 511 d post-burst. We confirmed this detection with further observations of the radio afterglow using the Australia Telescope Compact Array at 859 and 884 d post-burst. Combining this data with archival data from early-time radio observations, we showed the evolution of the radio spectral energy distribution alone could reveal clear signatures of a wind-like circumburst medium for the burst. Finally, we derived semi-analytical estimates for the microphysical shock parameters of the burst: electron power-law index p = 2.84, normalized wind-density parameter A* = 3, fractional energy in electrons ϵe = 0.3, and fractional energy in magnetic fields ϵB = 0.0002.