Alternative absorption spectra for plants

Chlorophyll-a (the primary one), chlorophyll-b, and(?) beta-carotene (plus other accessory pigments / carotenoids) dictate which portions of the EM spectrum are used as energy by plants.

Plants only use part of the available spectrum, because of these limitations.

The Sun's output is:

Obviously, plants are evolved to work in our environment, ie: with stuff the Sun puts out.

Are there any other hypothetical chemical compounds which can transform energy from other portions of the spectrum? Bonus points if they're made from common atoms, instead of rarer, higher elements.

ie: If you had a different star with different output levels (but are there?, I think that the sun is a blackbody radiator, and all of those curves look generally the same??), what types of chemical compounds might you encounter in their ecosystems?

posted over 9 years ago

user3082‭

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