We investigate the circumstellar disc fraction as determined from L -band excess observations of the young , massive Arches and Quintuplet clusters residing in the central molecular zone of the Milky Way .
The Quintuplet cluster was searched for L -band excess sources for the first time .
We find a total of 26 excess sources in the Quintuplet cluster , and 21 sources with L -band excesses in the Arches cluster , of which 13 are new detections .
With the aid of proper motion membership samples , the disc fraction of the Quintuplet cluster could be derived for the first time to be 4.0 \pm 0.7 % .
There is no evidence for a radially varying disc fraction in this cluster .
In the case of the Arches cluster , a disc fraction of 9.2 \pm 1.2 % approximately out to the cluster ’ s predicted tidal radius , r < 1.5 pc , is observed .
This excess fraction is consistent with our previously found disc fraction in the cluster in the radial range 0.3 < r < 0.8 pc .
In both clusters , the host star mass range covers late A- to early B-type stars , 2 < M < 15 M _ { \odot } , as derived from J -band photospheric magnitudes .
We discuss the unexpected finding of dusty circumstellar discs in these UV intense environments in the context of primordial disc survival and formation scenarios of secondary discs .
We consider the possibility that the L -band excess sources in the Arches and Quintuplet clusters could be the high-mass counterparts to T Tauri pre-transitional discs .
As such a scenario requires a long pre-transitional disc lifetime in a UV intense environment , we suggest that mass transfer discs in binary systems are a likely formation mechanism for the B-star discs observed in these starburst clusters .