  The first measurement of the photospheric abundances in a star at the
Galactic Center are presented. A detailed abundance analysis of the Galactic
Center M2 supergiant IRS 7 was carried out using high-resolution near-infrared
echelle spectra. The Fe abundance for IRS 7 was found to be close to solar,
[Fe/H] = -0.02 +/- 0.13, and nearly identical to the Fe abundances we obtained
for the nearby M supergiants alpha Ori and VV Cep. Analysis of the first and
second overtone lines of CO was used to derive an effective temperature of 3600
+/- 230 K, a microturbulent velocity of 3.0 +/- 0.3 km/s, and a carbon
abundance log epsilon(C) = 7.78 +/- 0.13, or [C/H] = -0.77. In addition, we
find a high depletion of 0.74 +/- 0.32 dex in O and an enhancement of 0.92 +/-
0.18 dex in N. These abundances are consistent with the dredge-up of CNO-cycle
products but require deep mixing in excess of that predicted by standard models
for red supergiants. In light of our measured solar Fe abundance for IRS 7, we
discuss other indicators of metallicity at the Galactic Center, the
interpretation of low-resolution near-infrared spectra of late-type giants and
supergiants, including the need for caution in using such spectra as measures
of metallicity, and the evolution of massive young stars at the Galactic
Center. We suggest the possibility that rapid stellar rotation is common for
stars formed under conditions in the Galactic Center, and that extra internal
mixing induced by high rotation rates, rather than evolution at high
metallicity, is the explanation for many of the unusual properties of the hot
emission-line stars in the Galactic Center.

Astrophysics