  The recent discovery of superconductivity in the so-called iron-oxypnictide
family of compounds has generated intense interest. The layered crystal
structure with transition metal ions in planar square lattice form and the
discovery of spin-density-wave order near 130 K seem to hint at a strong
similarity with the copper oxide superconductors. A burning current issue is
the nature of the ground state of the parent compounds. Two distinct classes of
theories have been put forward depending on the underlying band structures:
local moment antiferromagnetic ground state for strong coupling approach and
itinerant ground state for weak coupling approach. The local moment magnetism
approach stresses on-site correlations and proximity to a Mott insulating state
and thus the resemblance to cuprates; while the latter approach emphasizes the
itinerant electron physics and the interplay between the competing
ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic fluctuations. Such a controversy is partly
due to the lack of conclusive experimental information on the electronic
structures. Here we report the first angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy
(ARPES) investigation of LaOFeP (Tc = 5.9 K), the first reported iron-based
superconductor. Our results favor the itinerant ground state, albeit with band
renormalization. In addition, our data reveal important differences between
these and copper based superconductors.
