Published online by Cambridge University Press: 09 April 2009
We consider the effect on the stability properties of a graph G, of the presence in the automorphism group of G of automorphisms (uv)h, where u and v are vertices of G, and h is a permutation of vertices of G excluding u and v. We find sufficient conditions for an arbitrary graph and a cartesian product to have stability index one, and conjecture in the latter case that they are necessary. Finally we exhibit explicitly a large class of graphs which have stability index one.