Asymptotic results for partial concentrators

Various switching network construction advantageously use modules known as partial concentrators. A partial concentrator is an n-input, m-output, single-stage switching device in which each input has access to some but not all of the outputs. A partial concentrator is said to have capacity c, if, for any k⩽c inputs, there exist k disjoint paths from the k inputs to some set of k outputs. Here, capacity values achievable for large n when each input has access to exactly M outputs, are considered. For a partial concentrator in which each input has access to exactly M outputs, it is shown that the cost ratio can be made arbitrarily small for any fixed M⩾2. In addition, it is shown that the rate of decrease of the cost ratio with increasing n is logarithmic for M=2, and polynomial for M⩾3