Abundances of Baade's window giants from Keck HIRES spectra. I. Stellar parameters and [Fe/H] values

We present the first results of a new abundance survey of the MilkyWay bulge based on Keck HIRES spectra of 27 K giants in the Baade'sWindow (l = 1 degrees, b= -4 degrees) field. The spectral data used in this study are of much higher resolution and signal-to noise ratio than previous optical studies of Galactic bulge stars. The [Fe/H] values of our stars, which range between -1.29 and + 0.51, were used to recalibrate large low-resolution surveys of bulge stars. Our best value for the mean [Fe/H] of the bulge is -0.10 +/- 0.04. This mean value is similar to the mean metallicity of the local disk and indicates that there cannot be a strong metallicity gradient inside the solar circle. The metallicity distribution of stars confirms that the bulge does not suffer from the so-called G dwarf problem. This paper also details the new abundance techniques necessary to analyze very metal-rich K giants, including a new Fe line list and regions of low blanketing for continuum identification.