Na-O anticorrelation and HB III. The abundances of NGC 6441 from FLAMES-UVES spectra

The aim of the present work is to determine accurate metallicities for a group of red giant branch stars in the field of the bulge Globular Cluster NGC 6441. This is the third paper in a series resulting from a large project aimed at determining the extent of the Na-O anticorrelation among Globular Cluster stars and exploring its relationship with HB morphology. Methods. We present an LTE abundance analysis of these objects, based on data gathered with the FLAMES fiber facility and the UVES spectrograph at VLT2. Results. Five of the thirteen stars observed are members of the cluster. The average Fe abundance for these five stars is [Fe/H] = - 0.39 +/- 0.04 +/- 0.05 dex, where the first error bar includes the uncertainties related to star-to-star random errors, and the second one the systematic effects related to the various assumptions made in the analysis. The overall abundance pattern is quite typical of Globular Clusters, with an excess of the alpha-elements and of Eu. There is evidence that the stars of NGC 6441 are enriched in Na and Al, while they have been depleted of O and Mg by H-burning at high temperatures, analogous with extensive observations of other Globular Clusters: in particular, one star is clearly Na and Al- rich and O and Mg-poor. We also obtained quite high V abundances, but it is possible that this is an artifact of the analysis, since similar high V abundances are also derived for the field stars. These last are all more metal-rich than NGC 6441 and probably belong to the bulge population.