  We present ALMA 3 mm molecular line and continuum observations with a
resolution of ~3.5" towards five first hydrostatic core (FHSC) candidates
(L1451-mm, Per-bolo 58, Per-bolo 45, L1448-IRS2E and Cha-MMS1). Our goal is to
characterize their envelopes and identify the most promising sources that could
be bona fide FHSCs. We identify two candidates which are consistent with an
extremely young evolutionary state (L1451-mm and Cha-MMS1), with L1451-mm being
the most promising FHSC candidate. Although our envelope observations cannot
rule out Cha-MMS1 as a FHSC yet, the properties of its CO outflow and SED
published in recent studies are in better agreement with the predictions for a
young protostar. For the remaining three sources, our observations favor a
prestellar nature for Per-bolo 45 and rule out the rest as FHSC candidates.
Per-bolo 58 is fully consistent with being a Class 0, while L1448 IRS2E shows
no emission of high-density tracers (NH2D and N2H+) at the location of the
previously identified compact continuum source, which is also undetected in our
observations. Thus we argue that there is no embedded source at the presumptive
location of the FHSC candidate L1448 IRS2E. We propose instead, that what was
thought to be emission from the presumed L1448 IRS2E outflow corresponds to
outflow emission from a nearby Class 0 system, deflected by the dense ambient
material. We compare the properties of the FHSC candidates studied in this work
and the literature, which shows that L1451-mm appears as possibly the youngest
source with a confirmed outflow.
