On the semiclassical mass of ${\mathbb{S}}^2$-kinks

One-loop mass shifts to the classical masses of stable kinks arising in a massive non-linear ${\mathbb{S}}^2$-sigma model are computed. Ultraviolet divergences are controlled using the heat kernel/zeta function regularization method. A comparison between the results achieved from exact and high-temperature asymptotic heat traces is analyzed in depth.