  We study the dynamics of $\phi^4$ kinks perturbed by an ac force, both with
and without damping. We address this issue by using a collective coordinate
theory, which allows us to reduce the problem to the dynamics of the kink
center and width. We carry out a careful analysis of the corresponding ordinary
differential equations, of Mathieu type in the undamped case, finding and
characterizing the resonant frequencies and the regions of existence of
resonant solutions. We verify the accuracy of our predictions by numerical
simulation of the full partial differential equation, showing that the
collective coordinate prediction is very accurate. Numerical simulations for
the damped case establish that the strongest resonance is the one at half the
frequency of the internal mode of the kink. In the conclusion we discuss on the
possible relevance of our results for other systems, especially the sine-Gordon
equation. We also obtain additional results regarding the equivalence between
different collective coordinate methods applied to this problem.
