# A tale of two clusters: dynamical history determines disc survival in Tr14 and Tr16 in the Carina Nebula

## TL;DR

This study analyzes two young star clusters in the Carina Nebula, Tr14 and Tr16, showing their dynamical youth and confirming that initial stellar density influences the survival rate of planet-forming discs.

## Contribution

It provides the first structural analysis of Tr14 and Tr16, linking their dynamical state to disc survival predictions from simulations, highlighting the environment's role in planet formation.

## Key findings

- Neither cluster shows mass segregation, indicating they are dynamically young.
- Disc survival rates (~10%) in both clusters match simulation predictions.
- Supports the idea that star-forming environment affects disc survival and enrichment.

## Abstract

Understanding how the birthplace of stars affects planet-forming discs is important for a comprehensive theory of planet formation. Most stars are born in dense star-forming regions where the external influence of other stars, particularly the most massive stars, will affect the survival and enrichment of their planet-forming discs. Simulations suggest that stellar dynamics play a central role in regulating how external feedback affects discs, but comparing models to observations requires an estimate of the initial stellar density in star-forming regions. Structural analyses constrain the amount of dynamical evolution a star-forming region has experienced; regions that maintain substructure and do not show mass segregation are likely dynamically young, and therefore close to their birth density. In this paper, we present a structural analysis of two clusters in the Carina Nebula, Tr14 and Tr16. We show that neither cluster shows evidence for mass segregation or a centrally concentrated morphology, suggesting that both regions are dynamically young. This allows us to compare to simulations from Nicholson et al. (2019) who predict disc survival rates in star-forming regions of different initial densities. The surviving disc fractions in Tr14 and Tr16 are consistent with their predictions (both are $\sim 10$%), supporting a growing body of evidence that the star-forming environment plays an important role in the survival and enrichment of protoplanetary discs.