Draw energy cascade graph

Question

I want to draw energy cascade graph same as below:

I just assumed that the first part is a constant function equals 4 and the second and the third parts are linear functions with different slopes.

I used the following codes:

\begin{tikzpicture}[
declare function={
    func(\x)= (\x>=1) * (4)+
    and(\x>1.5, \x<=4) * (-\x/2)+
    and(\x>4, \x<=5) * (-\x);
}
]
\begin{axis}[
axis x line=middle, axis y line=middle,
ymin=0, ymax=5, ytick={0,...,5}, ylabel=$\log{E}$,
xmin=0, xmax=5, xtick={-5,...,5}, xlabel=$k$,
]
\pgfplotsinvokeforeach{1, 3, 4}{
    \draw[dashed] ({rel axis cs: 0,0} -| {axis cs: #1, 0}) -- ({rel axis cs: 0,20} -| {axis cs: #1, 0});}
\addplot[blue]{func(x)};
\end{axis}
\end{tikzpicture}

But the output gives a continuous curve and also I can't replace the xticks numbers with mathematical phrases.

How can I graph a plot same as the first picture?

Answer 1

The problem with your plot is in the function you declared. You have the desired slope but not the y-intercept point. Also you need many samples for the change in the slope to be smooth. I'd rather split the function in three plots or change it for some coordinates.

For the ticks labels you need the xticklabels command.

Below is the code with two plots: yours modified and another without the function.

\documentclass[border=2mm]{standalone}
\usepackage {pgfplots}
\pgfplotsset{compat=1.17}

\begin{document}
% OP code modified
\begin{tikzpicture}[
declare function={
    func(\x) = (\x<=1) * (4) +
               and(\x>1, \x<=4) * (-\x/2+4.5) +
               (\x>4) * (-\x+6.5);
}
]
\begin{axis}
[
axis x line=middle, axis y line=middle, samples=101, domain=0.5:4.5,
ymin=0, ymax=5, ytick={0,...,5}, ylabel=$\log{E}$,
xmin=0, xmax=5, xtick={1,3,4}, xlabel=$k$,
xticklabels={$1/L$, $1/l$, $1/l_k$}, yticklabels={}
]
\pgfplotsinvokeforeach{1, 3, 4}
{
    \addplot[red,dashed] coordinates {(#1,0) (#1,5)};
} 
\addplot[blue]{func(x)};
\end{axis}
\end{tikzpicture}

% Suggested code
\begin{tikzpicture}
\begin{axis}
[
axis x line=middle, axis y line=middle,
ymin=0, ymax=5, ytick={0,...,5}, ylabel=$\log{E}$,
xmin=0, xmax=5, xtick={1,3,4}, xlabel=$k$,
xticklabels={$1/L$, $1/l$, $1/l_k$}, yticklabels={}
]
\pgfplotsinvokeforeach{1, 3, 4}
{
    \addplot[red,dashed] coordinates {(#1,0) (#1,5)};
} 
\addplot[blue] coordinates {(0.5,4) (1,4) (4,2.5) (4.5,2)};
\end{axis}
\end{tikzpicture}
\end{document}

And the plots: EDIT: Removed the unnecessary y-axis tick labels.