One-loop correction to classical masses of quantum kink families

One-loop corrections to kink masses in a family of (1+1)-dimensional field theoretical models with two scalar fields are computed. A generalized DHN formula applicable to reflection and reflectionless potentials is obtained. It is thus shown how half-bound states arising in the spectrum of the second order fluctuation operator around TK1 kinks and the vacuum play a central rôle in the computation of the kink Casimir energy. The issue of whether or not the kink degeneracy exhibited by this family of models at the classical level survives quantum fluctuations up to the one-loop order is addressed .