  We investigate several models described by real scalar fields, searching for
topological defects, and investigating their linear stability. We also find
bosonic zero modes and examine the thermal corrections at the one-loop level.
The classical investigations are of interest to high energy physics and
applications in condensed matter, in particular to spatially extended systems
where fronts and interfaces separating different phase states may appear. The
thermal investigations show that the finite temperature corrections that appear
in a specific model induce a second-order phase transition in the system,
although the thermal effects do not suffice to fully restore the symmetry at
high temperature.
