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Recent observations of Galactic white dwarfs (WDs) with Gaia suggest there isa population of massive crystallizing WDs exhibiting anomalous cooling -- the Qbranch. While single-particle $^{22}$Ne sedimentation has long been considereda possible heat source, recent work suggests that $^{22}$Ne must separate intoclusters, enhancing diffusion, in order for sedimentation to provide heating onthe observed timescale. We show definitively that $^{22}$Ne cannot separate toform clusters in C/O WDs using molecular dynamics simulations, and we furtherpresent a general C/O/Ne phase diagram showing that strong $^{22}$Ne enrichmentis not achievable for $^{22}$Ne abundance $\lesssim 30\%$. We conclude that theanomalous heating cannot be due to $^{22}$Ne cluster sedimentation and that Qbranch WDs may have an unusual composition, possibly rich with heavierelements.

Neon Cluster Formation and Phase Separation During White Dwarf Cooling