High Resolution Spectroscopy of Gamma-Ray Burst Afterglows.

The launch of the Swift mission has opened up new windows in the study of the Gamma-Ray Burst. The optical follow-up of the early afterglow is one among the scientific fields that have been revolutionized. Thanks to the fast broadcast of the GRB coordinates and to the rapid response mode systems built up in 8-meter class telescopes, these afterglows can be observed from hours down to a few minutes after the GRB explosion. The high signal-to noise achievable allows us to acquire high resolution spectra, which carry a lot of information both on the GRB environment and the Inter-Stellar Medium of high redshift galaxies. In this paper, I will give a short review of what we have learned through the high resolution spectroscopy of GRB afterglows; I will focus in particular on the case of GRB080319B, the first naked-eye GRB observed to date, for which high resolution observations reach an unprecedented level of the signal to noise ratio. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]