The nature of H i absorbers in gamma‐ray burst afterglows: clues from hydrodynamic simulations

In recent work, we have shown that it is possible to link quantitatively many aspects of damped Lyman α (DLA) absorbers in the spectra of quasars to high‐resolution simulations of galaxy formation. Using runs from the same series of hydrodynamic numerical studies, we consider the expected properties of intrinsic Lyman α absorbers seen in the spectra of high‐redshift (z > 2) gamma‐ray burst afterglows (GRB–DLAs). If GRBs are associated with the …