2020MNRAS.499.4394M

We present ALMA 3 mm molecular line and continuum observations with a resolution of ∼3.5 arcsec 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 that 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 an 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 favour a pre-stellar 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.