Explain the role of pigments in photosynthesis.

(N/A) $ \Rightarrow $ Pigments are substances that have the ability to absorb light at specific wavelengths.
$ \Rightarrow $ The most abundant plant pigment in the world is chlorophyll-$a$.
$ \Rightarrow $ We are familiar with the wavelength of the visible spectrum of light as well as the $VIBGYOR$: $V=$ Violet,$I=$ Indigo,$B=$ Blue,$G=$ Green,$Y=$ Yellow,$O=$ Orange,$R=$ Red.
$ \Rightarrow $ Looking at figure $(a)$,we can determine the wavelengths at which chlorophyll-$a$ absorbs the most light.
$ \Rightarrow $ Figure $(b)$ shows the wavelengths at which maximum photosynthesis occurs in a plant. We can see that the wavelengths at which there is maximum absorption by chlorophyll-$a$ are in the blue and red regions.
$ \Rightarrow $ This shows a higher rate of photosynthesis. Hence,we can conclude that chlorophyll-$a$ is the chief pigment associated with photosynthesis.
$ \Rightarrow $ By observing figure $(c)$,we can say that there is a complete one-to-one overlap between the absorption spectrum of chlorophyll-$a$ and the action spectrum of photosynthesis.
$ \Rightarrow $ These graphs together show that most of the photosynthesis takes place at these wavelengths of the visible spectrum.
$ \Rightarrow $ Though chlorophyll-$a$ is the major pigment responsible for trapping light,other thylakoid pigments like chlorophyll-$b$,xanthophylls,and carotenoids,which are called accessory pigments,also absorb light and transfer the energy to chlorophyll-$a$.
$ \Rightarrow $ Indeed,they not only enable a wider range of wavelengths of incoming light to be utilized for photosynthesis but also protect chlorophyll-$a$ from photo-oxidation.