2011ApJ...728..149V

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 = 1²⁸SiO and v = 0²⁹SiO 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 ∼60 mas of the star, corresponding to ∼100 AU at a distance of 1.57 kpc. 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 H₂ 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 ∼1400 AU. 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 ²⁸SiO and ²⁹SiO isotopologues and find that they have a markedly different distributions and that they appear to avoid each other. Additionally, emission from the SO 5₅-4₄ 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.