Quantum Corrections to Soliton Energies

We review recent progress in the computation of leading quantum corrections to the energies of classical solitons with topological structure, including multi-soliton models in one space dimension and string configurations in three space dimensions. Taking advantage of analytic continuation techniques to efficiently organize the calculations, we show how quantum corrections affect the stability of solitons in the Shifman-Voloshin model, stabilize charged electroweak strings coupled to a heavy fermion doublet, and bind Nielsen-Olesen vortices at the classical transition between type I and type II superconductors.