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Description
We present Submillimeter Array observations of high-frequency SiO masers around the supergiant VX Sgr and the semi-regular variable star W Hya. The J=5-4, v=1^28^SiO and v=0^29^SiO masers of VX Sgr are shown to be highly linearly polarized with a polarization from ~5% to 60%. Assuming the continuum emission peaks at the stellar position, the masers are found within ~60mas of the star, corresponding to ~100AU at a distance of 1.57kpc. The linear polarization vectors are consistent with a large-scale magnetic field, with position and inclination angles similar to that of the dipole magnetic field inferred in the H_2_O and OH maser regions at much larger distances from the star. We thus show for the first time that the magnetic field structure in a circumstellar envelope can remain stable from a few stellar radii out to ~1400AU. This provides further evidence supporting the existence of large-scale and dynamically important magnetic fields around evolved stars. Due to a lack of parallactic angle coverage, the linear polarization of masers around W Hya could not be determined. For both stars, we observed the ^28^SiO and ^29^SiO isotopologues and find that they have a markedly different distributions and that they appear to avoid each other. Additionally, emission from the SO 5_5_-4_4_ line was imaged for both sources. Around W Hya, we find a clear offset between the red- and blueshifted SO emission. This indicates that W Hya is likely host to a slow bipolar outflow or a rotating disk-like structure.
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